


Whirlpools in the Sea

by Xoira



Series: Whirls and Seals [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: A-more-realistic-take-of-the-Narutoverse, Action/Adventure, Action/Adventure combined with Slice of Life, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Blood and Violence, Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Child Soldiers, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Clan Politics, Conditioning, Culture of Violence, Despotism, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, My Country Right or Wrong, Nationalism, Not Canon Compliant, Orphanage, Orphans, Patriotism, Politics, Pre-Canon, Slice of Life, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2020-09-26 05:27:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xoira/pseuds/Xoira
Summary: Her first memories were of colorful crayons, the faces carved in stone that she always saw when she looked at the window, and a fox with a resentful gaze in its eyes.





	1. Chapter 1

_October 10th, Year 60 of the Hidden Villages*_

_That day started as any other,-and could have ended up as such-, if a Nine-Tailed-Fox hadn't suddenly appeared at the middle of the night, unleashing all his might. Its tails attacked, crushing mountains and causing tidal waves that impacted the coasts. _

_The ninjas rose themselves in defense of their homeland._

_However their strengths were so feeble in comparison to the monster's. The best thing they could do was hold up and wait the coming of the Yondaime, the only one strong enough to stand a chance against the deadly beast._

_But there was no way to kill the monster once and for all. And so the only alternative to defeat it was to seal it. _

_Seal it **inside** a human body._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deciding Fates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a very good chapter, but whatever.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes.

_October 14th, Year 60 of the Hidden Villages*_

It had been days after the Attack of the Legendary Nine-Tails in Konohagakure. The demon had razed with everything at its path, leaving behind the highest number of casualties Konoha had had in its history. The Yondaime Hokage of Konoha had been been the person responsible for the defeat of the Kyuubi. But every great achievement had its price and his case he paid it with his life.

After such tragedy, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the retired Sandaime Hokage, had been forced to rekindle himself with the title of Hokage. Thus far Konoha had managed to hold itself up spectacularly well in spite of everything. But there still was one more matter to resolve, and that's why the newly reinstalled Sandaime Hokage, along with the Village Council, had decided to have an extraordinary meeting in a house in the south exit of Konoha, away from any prying eyes, except for the ANBU prowling outside. The house where they were was old, and had served as an alternate headquarters for all the previous Hokages.

The motive of such meeting was to decide the fate of the Yondaime Hokage's legacy. Said legacy was a tiny baby who was placidly sleeping in a crib at one corner of the room, under the attentive stares of the village leaders. A white hat was snuggly wrapped in the baby's bald head, protecting it from the chilly night. The newborn's body was squishy and warm, clad in a pink-colored cloth. 

"Absolutely no Hiruzen. You can't keep her" one of the men in the room expressed evenly but firmly. He was dressed in robes, had bandages over his right eye and arm; and a cane was resting at his side of the settee, being his assistance to walk. Despite his old, battered appearance, he had a head full of black hair and had an air of danger around him. This man's name was Danzo Shimura.

The baby,-now identified as a she-, opened her eyes, revealing a pair of blue orbs, although such coloring could probably change with age. She scrunched her face and for a moment Hiruzen feared she was going to cry, but instead she just fell asleep again, albeit frowning as she did so. She was so innocent, having no idea the problem her existence was causing.

"There's no other option. She's a Jinchuuriki, so we can't give her to any of the Clans, it would only cause imbalance of power. Besides, the least people knowing about her _condition,_ the better"

"Doesn't your Clan had laws against adoption?" Danzo asked, even if he already knew the answer. It was true, the Clan Sarutobi didn't allow adoptions, because although they didn't have a Kekkei Genkai, their Monkey Summons were exclusive to them by right of blood, as direct descendants from the Monkey Mountains of Fire Country.

"You know as well as I do, that as the Hokage and former Clan heir, I'm perfectly capable of bypassing such Laws" Hiruzen warily rebutted.

But Danzo didn't miss a beat "Which would only raise needless ruckus and uncomfortable questions. After all, why would the Hokage bend his own Clan's laws just to adopt one insignificant little girl? People would start to be curious, and if that happens, people may look to deeply into her and discover her condition as Jinchuuriki."

"Danzo's right. Adopting her is a hassle we can't afford" spoke the only woman in the room,-who-, until the moment, had remained strangely silent. She was old too, with an outmoded hairstyle held by a single golden pin. She was fat and bowed, but her voice hadn't lost the generalship of her younger years. This woman's name was Koharu Utatane. 

Homura Mitokado adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat "I second that. I dont think you should worry that much Hokage-sama. The orphanage can take good care of her."

"And once she's old enough, Ieave her to me myself Hiruzen. To shape her into what Konoha needs" Danzo stated with an unreadable look in his eyes.

_"No"_ Hiruzen refuted with a final tone "Once she's old enough, she'll have an appropriate training regime in the Academy, the same as the rest of her peers" He was ready to fight Danzo on this. But Danzo didn't say anything else, much to Hiruzen' surprise.

Hiruzen then looked at the baby. She was awake again, curiously taking in everything around her. She was just an infant now, but he already could see a resemblance to the late Kushina.

As one of the few Uzumaki alive, and definitely the last one in Konoha, Hiruzen could perfectly use his position to adopt her, claiming that as Hokage, he was trying to protect a fallen Clan, honoring the alliance of said Clan and its village with Konoha. But he refrained from saying so, because he knew the real reason why the Council didn't want him to adopt her, even if they didn't say it out loud: they didn't want him to get attached to her.

He may not want to admit it, but Danzo had a point. Every Shinobi could die in battle, it was almost expected from them. But Jinchuuriki were different, they were the definition of human _sacrifices,_ their humanity was stripped away from them in favor of being considered war deterrents. If Hiruzen adopted her, there was no way he'd be able to distance himself from her and see her for the warfare asset she really _was_**.** No way he could put the village's well-being above hers. And that was unacceptable.

But he could make a compromise: allow her to have a normal childhood until the day she inevitably meets her destiny as a weapon of mass destruction...

With a heavy heart but a resolute mind, he took the slumbering baby in his arms and signaled the end of the meeting, not before telling to the Council,-in short and precise words-, that he agreed with their proposed course of action. He tried to ignore the feeling of relief emanating from the Council, or more like he ignored the feeling of relief emanating from Homura and Koharu. Danzo was as unflappable as ever. Murmuring a polite goodbye, he hurriedly left the room, not wanting to stay around any longer. However, he momentarily halted his march when he caught sight of a picture right in the middle of the hall. It was a picture of Minato, from the day he was elected Hokage. It was the only personal item that Minato had left in the house.

Any guilt he might've felt towards Kushina was somewhat soothed when he stared at the Yellow Flash's solemn face. Minato was the one who sealed the Kyuubi inside his own daughter. He was a Hokage who fully understood the meaning of sacrifice. He would understand his actions better than anyone else.

He absently remembered that Kushina and Minato were going to name their child after the character of one of Jiraiya's books. But they had been expecting a boy, and Jiraiya wasn't even in town anyways to name her. He scowled at that. Jiraiya was the girl's godfather, he should be here dealing with all this. For a moment he toyed with the idea of not giving her a name, but he promptly scrapped it, displeased at his own thoughts.

Biwako would be much better at this than him, but she was dead, one more victim of the Nine-Tails. He already had grieved for her in the past days, but there was nothing he could do to alleviate the pain in his chest every time he thought of her. More often than not, he found himself daydreaming of her; remembering her fortitude, her gruff voice, the way her lips quivered when she was about to laugh.

With the baby still in arms, Hiruzen returned to his home, the Hokage Residence, ubicated at the center of the village. Despite the destruction that had recently take place, the village was beautiful at night, with the smell of pines and the gentle chirring of crickets filling the air. But he didn't pay attention to any of it. His mind was so far away, lost in the remembrances of his long gone youth...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> The idea of this fic has been going around my head for months, but I had refrained of posting anything for many reasons. One of them is that this story most likely would end up being SNS with Fem!Naruto, and I like SNS the way it is (i.e, gay af) But this fic is also a fix-it from all the fascist, genocide apologist shit the manga/anime turned out to be. And I've read many fix-it fics, but none with Fem!Naruto as well, so I decided to give it a try. 
> 
> Edit 5/12/2020: Overall, this fic not only is going to have Naruto as a female, but it's also going to explore the idea of what would have happened and how the story would have changed if people hadn't known about Naruto's Jinchuuriki Status since the very beginning. 
> 
> *The creation of Konoha and the subsequent Hidden villages was such a big deal as to create a new whole calendar based on it, just as we have a Calendar starting after Christ' birth.
> 
> Survey from the week: Should I name Fem!Naruto differently, or keep his/her canonical name?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New name, new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already had this chapter written like a month ago, but for reasons even I don't get I hadn't posted it. But here it is!
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes

_October 17th, Year 60 of the Hidden Villages_

As the Hokage, it was Hiruzen's obligation to send a letter to Jiraiya, the appointed spymaster of the Village, to update him with all the information corresponding to Konoha Post Nine-Tails' attack. Of course, in all that it was also included information about the newest Jinchuuriki of Konoha... of whom Jiraiya was a godfafther as well. At the end of the letter though, he added a small paragraph asking about the name of the character from Jiraiya's novel, the name Minato and Kushina intended to give to their offspring; although it was added in a way that it almost seemed as an afterthought, despite the fact it really wasn't. 

Two days later, a small red-daubed frog landed on his desk, delivering a creased scrap of paper containing a five-words message. Five words, as if it was a telegram.

~ _The character's name is Naruto ~_

Jiraiya had no interest in Naruto, that's what Hiruzen could tell from such short, impersonal message. Not that he didn't already _know,_ but he wanted confirmation and confirmation he got.

Hiruzen doesn't think Naruto is an appropriate name for, well, _anyone. _Novel hero or not, it doesn't change the fact that the name is inspired in a ramen topping, of all things. But frankly he has far more important things in mind as to worry for Minato and Kushina's admiteddly corny taste in names. On the other hand, the baby _(Naruto, he reminds himself)_ is never going to get recognized as Namikaze, but she'll have her mother's surname, which is even more reputable in its own right.

So her name will be Naruto Uzumaki. It has a nice ring on it.

* * *

_October 21th, Year 60 of the Hidden Villages_

It wasn't that unexpected, Hiruzen reasoned. Actually, he was just surprised by the fact it didn't happen sooner. 

As far as civilians, genins and chuunins knew, the Nine-Tails had been slayed down by Minato Namikaze, the great Yondaime Hokage. Only the Clan Heads and high-ranked shinobis knew that in reality, the bijuus were inmortal, and the sole way to defeat was sealing them. Beyond that, they also knew that no inanimate object but a human body was capable of containing a being as powerful as the Kyuubi at bay.

Which led to his current predicament: his office being swarmed by the most important shinbis in the village, all of them asking the same question: Who was the new Jinchuuriki of Konoha?

Kushina's status as Jinchuuriki had remained undisclosed until her death. Not one but a few had known Mito Uzumaki had been a Jinchuuriki too, even now. Thing is, people had always _known_ there _was_ a Jinchuuriki in Konoha, they just hadn't known** who**. As shinobis, they understood the importance of secrets, and despite knowing the truth; the idea of an all-powerful monster made of chakra that none of them had seen had been deemed as abstract for most of them. Whimsical even.

Obviously that wasn't the case anymore, not after having witnessing first-hand of what exactly the Kyuubi was capable of.

But he wasn't going to meet their demands. So he told them, in no uncertain terms, that the Jinchuuriki's identity was going to be keep as a secret, the same way as it had always been done.

They protested, of course, rather vociferously, all of them expressing their distaste at his refusal in different ways.

_ "What?! No way!"_

_ "Think in the people Hokage-sama!"_

_"We can't live with a monster between us!"_

But Hiruzen just pointedly ignored them. And at the end, when they recognized that their leader would not change his mind, little by little the shinobis started to retire, all of them morosely muttering under their breaths, but unwilling to keep insisting.

While his subordinates vacated his office, Hiruzen's eyes wandered to Fugaku Uchiha and his wife Mikoto, being they of the last ones to leave. Fugaku's expression was as stern as usual, but with an extra layer of severeness on it, probably because he,-as the rest of the other shinobis-, was infuriated at his negative of divulging the Jinchuuriki's identity. However, the old Hokage's attention was on his wife Mikoto and not him.

At simple view Mikoto had the same expression as her husband, but her black dress along her ungainly visage betrayed her grief. She didn't look at all like her usual prim self. Of course, that was to be expected considering how many Uchihas had died because of the Kyuubi. A pang in his chest reminded him too how close Kushina and the Uchiha matriarch had been. 

To hide suspicions, he and the Council had told everyone that Minato's child had died alongside him and his wife. It helped that,-for security reasons-, Kushina had already previously lied about the gestation period too. Everyone thought Kushina had been only six months pregnant at the time of her death. He was thankful for it, because Mikoto had been Naruto's godmother at Kushina's request, just like Jiraiya had been Naruto's godfather at Minato's, and since Jiraiya didn't seem to have any interest in her goddaughter's fate, Mikoto was,-in every way-, the person with all rights to Naruto's guardianship. 

Under different circumstances, this would be no problem and he would've let Naruto in Mikoto's capable hands. She was a good woman, he was sure she would make sure of raise her late friend's child as if were her own, and Naruto would thrive under her care.

But there was no way he could allow an _Uchiha _to take care of their Jinchuuriki,-not even Mikoto-, that would only spell disaster for everyone. Danzo would never agree to it, and Koharu and Homura wouldn't too.

And Hiruzen was desperate to keep the peace, and that mean not contradict them more than it was necessary.

* * *

_October 25th, Year 60 of the Hidden Villages_

The Konoha Orphanage was founded during the First Shinobi War, during the Second Hokage's reign. The number of casualties produced by the war had left a massive amount of orphans. And despite the tight security the village maintained in order to fend off enemies attacks; there still had been an alarming amount of sexual assaults and rapes to women who had dared as much as to draw away from the village, if only for a few meters. As a result, it hadn't been uncommon to find the babies born from these "_unions"_ abandoned in streets and garbage dumps; left at the mercy of the transients.

In the face of such misfortune, some of of the most well-off civilians in the village, along with the help of the shinobis who hadn't been dispatched to war (Genins); joined to erect some improvised huts that could serve as temporary homes for the newborns and the homeless, parentless children in the village.

After the war ended, the improvised huts were demolished and replaced by a lone large building of wooden walls and zinc roof. Certainly not the fanciest house around, given the financial status of Konoha because of the war, but it had been a fully functioning home for the increasing amount of orphans in the village.

Decades down the road, and the Konoha Orphanage is a mere shadow of what it once was.

The walls once painted with new bright colors are now little more than decaying wood with chipped paint, the roof is almost about to fall down, and there are leaks everywhere.

Certainly not a place worthy for the daughter of a Kage.

These are Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts as he walks through the poorly cared front yard of the orphanage. At his back there two ANBUS,-a male and a female-, the latter carrying the reason why he's here.

It doesn't take long until the people in charge of the institution to take notice of him. Even he has discharged the Hokage robes for the occasion, he's still wearing his Kage hat, and carrying his trademark pipe in his hand. And of course, the ANBUS behind him are pretty noticeable too, which is a great irony onto itself.

The first person to catch up to him is a woman who seems to be in her early to middle thirties. She is slim, with dark hair and dark eyes. She wears thick glasses with beaded chains that give her the air of a stereotypical librarian, and there's something vaguely familiar about her, although he can't pinpoint what. Maybe she was a shinobi at some point?

The woman hurries to bend in a respectful bow "Good morning Hokage-sama. It's an honor to have you here. My name is Akako Kamiya, the headmistress of this place and I'm at your service"

"Thank you. I suppose you can guess why I'm here" Hiruzen says in a rather cryptical way, looking at the ninjas behind him.

Kamiya pursues her lips for a second but her features quickly enrange themselves into a more open expression "Oh, of course Hokage-sama. If you can be so kind as to accompany me"

They walk side by side through the rundown halls. Hiruzen doesn't think the children really recognize him, at least the smaller ones don't, but they still stop whatever what they're doing just to stare and gape at him. They probably can sense he's someone important, based in his expensive clothes that stick out like sore thumbs against the poverty and squalor surrounding him.

They finally stop at what Sarutobi supposes it's Kamiya's office: a tiny room that seems to be in slighty better conditions that the rest of the building, with an oak desk, three rickety chairs, and a corner table with a water pitcher and its glass.

As soon as the door behind them closes and they sit on their respective chairs, Hiruzen does a quick sign with his hand and the female ANBU behind him walks silently to where they are, revealing the small child wrapped in her arms.

Hiruzen promptly decides to cut the chase "This girl is an Uzumaki. Her name is Naruto" 

The bespectacled woman doesn't seem surprised, but her eyes gleam at recognition at hearing the name Uzumaki, which confirms Hiruzen's suspicions of this woman being a shinobi at some point of her life.

"Uzumaki? As the same as Uzumaki Clan?"

"Yes, and as you must know, in the past few years there had been some refugees from Uzushio coming to Konoha for protection" 

"Yes, I know. The Yondaime's wife was one of those refugees right?"

"Right" Hiruzen responds in a sharper tone, already thinking that maybe the woman is starting to suspect more than she lets on. That little comment about Kushina **can't** be _coincidental,_ or so he thinks.

" Unfortunately, during the Kyuubi attack, the few Uzumakis living in the village were the first ones in the frontlines, and we haven't found any more survivors aside from this little one. We have _no idea_ who were her parents, but the chakra recognition test* showed us that she is undoubtedly an Uzumaki. The last one in the village and possibly the world too"

The woman lunges forward "And you want to protect her right? Keep her safe from the any posible retaliations from Kiri and Kumo?

"Exactly"

Kamiya blinks and an assessing look takes over her face "Hokage-sama, may I ask a question?"

The old man furrows his brows, but doesn't object "Of course"

"Why not adopt her yourself? I mean, this girl belongs to one of the Four Great Clans, and she'd undoubtedly be safe with you"

"I don't want to bring unnnecessary attention to herself. Adopt her would do just that. And I think she being here would make sure to keep her under the radar. After all, not many people even remembers the Uzumaki anymore. At least not the newest generations" His answer is so scripted than it hurts, but apparently it works because Kamiya just nods, seemingly pleased with his response.

After that, Hiruzen spends the next half-hour or so rattling every little detail and information about Naruto, with Kamiya dutifully scribbling everything. Since the orphanage will be her guardian and not Hiruzen, Kamiya is the one who's going to do all the paperwork and legal formalities. Thus she needs every information he can give.

When he finally leaves the place, with the ANBUS still dutifully watching his back, Hiruzen feels disgusted at how _relieved_ he's at no longer having the responsibility of his predecessor's child over him.

* * *

As a former ANBU, it's not her place to question the Hokage, the supremer leader of their village. 

Akako was never the best or most prodigious kunoichi around, but she was competent, no one who is in ANBU can't afford not to be. However, if she ever was particulary good at something, was for interrogation. She always had a snack for knowing when people lied and when they didn't.

So she can't help but help a little insulted when the Hokage spills all those lies on her face and expects her to believe him. It's offensive. It's not her place to question the Hokage, sure. And yet Akako Kamiya wants to do exactly that.

It's so _obvious_,-at least to her-, that that girl is more important than he lets on. Sure, the Uzumakis are rare breds nowadays, and their vast chakra coils and reserves are truly great assets. But he truly expects her to believe he came all the way, basically incognito, with two ANBU armed to the teeth, just to drop a baby Uzumaki? This is Konoha, where orphans are to the order of the day, Uzumakis or not.

But she knows this line of thought is useless, and throwing a (mental) temper tantrum at not being in the know of something is childish. So she just takes the bundle into her arms, deciding to carry out this new assignment from the Hokage with the same seriousness she did her ANBU missions. Besides... being honest Naruto seems kind of adorable too, all chubby cheeks and nonsensical babbling.

A small titter comes out from the babe's lips in flattery, as if reading Akako's thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comment in this story! 
> 
> At the end I decided to keep Fem!Naruto as Naruto, if only for simplicity's sake.
> 
> *Think about the chakra recognition test as some sort of DNA test, the same kind of tests archeologists use to determine someone's ancestry. Yep, it's a cop-out, I know.
> 
> Hiruzen is such a hard character to write. I don't want to write him as good, this guy allowed the Uchiha Massacre and a lot of other atrocities to happen, he definitely isn't a good guy. But at the same time, I don't want to write him as a bad guy either, I've always think of him as someone who's weak willed and spineless in regards to his "friends"(Danzo), and who's allowed terrible thing to happen not because he's inherently bad, but because he genuinely thinks pretending everything is fine is the proper answer. And now I'm rambling. If anyone has suggestions, I'm open to listen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orders and Money

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this chapter was so hard for me to write, dunno why. And the wost of it is that it's mostly a transient chapter.
> 
> English isn't my first language. So feel free to point out any mistakes.

_Four Years Later_

"I'll repeat this: I can't accept your petition. Simple as that" Akako Kamiya said almost curtly to the person with whom she was holding a conversation with. Internally she cursed herself for her insensitivity. But in her defense, she's already endured an hour holding a conversation with someone who doesn't seem to get a hint.

Said someone was a forty-something woman, whose kind smile slowly got smaller and smaller at each consecutive rejection, only to be finally replaced by an offended frown.

"I don't get it. All my papers are in order, and there I prove that I have enough money to provide for a child. Even my currently unmarried status is not trouble considering I'm a widow." 

Akako had nothing to refute_ that_. She _had_ studied the lady's file. A civilian, born and raised in Konoha, without children. Her family arranged her into a marriage with a wealthy merchant many years her senior. He'd died in a tragic accident, but not before leaving all his money to his widow. The woman continued to manage her late husband's business and even had initiated some charities. A woman like her, with no other inmediate family to focus on, truly was a perfect choice for the role of the foster mom for any kid. But unfortunately, on this case that wasn't a option.

" That's correct. But again, I can't allow you to adopt Naruto Uzumaki" God, how many times she's to repeat this?

"But why not?" the woman was very annoying, and _that_ annoyed Akako. And her words were forcefully polite, it was obvious she was someone unaccustomed to being denied anything

"Because I say so!" She exclaimed with finality. And yes, she was fully aware how utterly unprofessional that response sounded, but she_ certainly_ wasn't going to offer any answers. She'd already said to the lady that what she was asking for was impossible. 

As if sensing she was no longer in mood to keep humoring her; the woman snorted loudly and dropped the polite and demure demeanor so abruptly that it almost gave her whiplash. "I'll take this to other instances" she affirmed with a tone of threat.

_"Yeah, try"_ "Whatever"

The woman glared at her and turned around with an offended scoff, in the process of getting out of the room without saying goodbye. But when she opened the room, both her and Kamiya saw the subject of their previous conversation standing just outside the room; with tracks of tears already drying themselves in her cheeks. By the looks of it, it seemed like she had heard the entire conversation.

"Naruto-"

But before she could say more, the little girl wordlessly turned around and ran, paying no mind to the headmistress's yells.

* * *

Being barely little more than a toddler, Naruto Uzumaki was still a little too young to understand certain things. As to why she can't touch the light connectors. About why she can't wipe her mouth with the tablecloth after eating spaghetti. Or why she sometimes walks asleep. But there was one thing all kids in an orphanage learned almost as good as their own names: the best thing it could happen to you was to get a family. The fact that that might not be necessary true never crossed their young, simple minds.

So naturally; most children in the orphanage perked up and paid a little more attention to their surroundings every time someone came looking for a child to adopt, and Naruto wasn't the exception. Unfortunately for them, the adults always were quite tight-lipped to the whole stuff.

So the older kids, more experienced in the arts of hiding and eavesdropping; they were the ones always trying to hear and make sense out of the closed-doors conversations.

In one occassion, one of the snopping kids,-a boy around ten with a few teeth missing-, ran to the playground, where most of the kids commune, and yells at the top of his lungs:

"Whos 'ruto Uzumaki?

Naruto lifted her head at the sound of her name being called.

"What?"

"A couple of old farts wants to take you!"

It took Naruto a few seconds to process that, but when it did-

"REALLY?!!" she yelled loudly and excitedly. She's always dreamed of this moment, but finally having as a reality, it was-

"Yes, really. Now start packing your crap!"

Naruto didn't even register the boy's rude words. Her mind was stuck in the idea of her getting a family. She ran to the communal bunk dorm she and other ten girls her age shared, and started packing all her stuff into her threadbare backpack, the one that looks hilariously big when she's the one carrying it.

She sat in one of the chairs of the dining table, and despite her best efforts to appear calm, her stubby legs couldn't stop excitedly kicking at the air. She couldn't wait to meet her new parents. What were their names? Were they ninjas or civilians? Do they have pets? Would they allow her to have one?

But the hours quickly passed, and the supposed couple of "old farts" never went to pick her up. She was confused and so were the rest of her peers. Even the rude boy who had told her was surprised, and even apologized to her, saying that it was possible that he had heard incorrectly.

The same occurrence happened two or three more times, but in spite of some her peers' chuckles and snickers, Naruto kept repeating the same routine of packing her things and sitting in the kitchen, stubbornly holding onto her hopes and her excitement. But of course, all of it always ended up in vain, as every time she waited, no one ever came.

By then, the chuckles and snickers turned into whispers, whispers that ran like fire across the halls, all of them trying to formulate the why people keep trying to adopt Naruto and yet none of them actually did it. Most of them thought the older children were paying a prank on her, and laughed at her naivety, as she always ended up falling for it, like the complete sucker she was.

Naruto herself was convinced of it too, mostly because the kids who gossiped behind doors were not longer kids, and they had changed too. They had become a lot meaner, and now a lot of them were a bunch of bullies who liked to pick on the smaller children. But Naruto still decided to confront them.

However, they denied everything, saying that they really weren't playing with her. After a long rant, one of the them let slip that the headmistress had explicitly forbidden those people from adopting her.

"But why?" she asked to herself, mouth and eyes wide open. Well, she definitely wasn't expecting that.

Naruto didn't know the headmistress much, although she always saw her around the halls. She was the scary looking woman with big glasses. But despite her stern face, she wasn't mean at all! Some nights she'd seen her checking every room to see if they were alright. She always offered help to any kid who needed it. She wouldn't do something like that!

The kid just shrugged "Dunno. Maybe she doesn't want to saddle anyone with a kid with those ugly marks of yours"

"No! Tha' a lie!" she cried in tears, her hands involuntarily going to her face as to cover those marks.

In the last year strange scar-like marks had beginning to gradually appear in her cheeks, making her look like a whiskered animal. Some of the babysitters insisted that they made her look unique, but Naruto didn't think so. The rest of the children didn't think so either, and so they teased her about it, making her feel freaky and ugly.

"Crybaby!" she heard someone yell.

And she couldn't defend herself against _that, _because the tears were falling from her eyes and wet coughs arrived to her throat, doing impossible the task to speak.

* * *

A few weeks later, a new possible adopter came to the house: a very pretty woman, who sent her a slight smile while walking, which thrilled her. And she was clad quite opulently. For whom could she have come for? To satisfy her curiosity, for the first time she decided to go and lean against the door of the headmistress' office, ready to listen to the talk taking place inside.

* * *

_"...I'll repeat this: I can't accept your petition. Simple as that..."_

It was true. It was _true!_ She didn't get it. Why was the headmistress denying her? She didn't even said any explanations, she just didn't want to!

But before she could dwell deeper into her thoughts, the door of the office opened, and she saw the headmistress alongside the woman who had smiled to her earlier. Apparently she'd come for her too. For a moment she stared longingly at her. If only, if only...

But her longing was overrade by sadness and anger when she saw the other person there, the headmistress, and so she glared at her, or tried at least. But the tears were having a comeback, and so she began to run, not wanting them to yell at her for being a crybaby.

Given the fact she didn't have a room for herself, she couldn't go there. One of her roommates could be there and ask her why she was sobbing, and she didn't want that. So she looked for her favorite hiding place in the whole orphanage, one of the very few places where she could cry in peace.

* * *

There was no way a mere untrained four-years-old cub couldn't ever dream of out-running an adult, less so a former ANBU. Still, Kamiya didn't try to localize Naruto but until sometime later. The young girl seemed like she needed time to cool off and cry a little. Predictably enough, a few minutes later she found her in the lone swing in the cherry tree, quietly watching the other kids play.

She sat in the ground, and asked without preambles "How much did you heard?"

The girl didn't answer, but her shoulders dropped a little.

"I guess you hear all of it. Look Naruto, I don't know what you're thinking about me, but I know they aren't good things. Trust me, if I had my way, you and every kid there would find a new home and new family to go to."

"So why?"

"Why what?" she ignorantly inquired.

"Why didn't you let the lady to pick me? She wanted... she wanted to make me her family." she let out in a tiny voice, absently pushing a rock with her foot.

"I can't say it" Akako said lamely. And for the look Naruto gave her, she seemed to think so too.

Naruto Uzumaki was a sought-after choice for adoption; even when most of the want-to-be parents frequenting the orphanage usually searched for babies. Akako suspected it was merely because of her prettiness, as shallow as that was. But the reasons didn't matter, since every time someone got interested on her, she was forced to say no. Why? Because the Hokage had ordered that no civilian could adopt Naruto, her destiny as the last living Uzumaki in Konoha was to become a ninja and getting adopted by civilians could obstruct that. And according to the old Kage, none of the big Clans had showed any interest in taking her, so her only options were either living alone or in the orphanage.

Akako huffed a little " I don't think you understand what I'm going to say, you're still too young. But someday you'll grown up and then you'll get an explanations about why I do what I do"

The girl looked at her with squinted eyes, she got the gist of it even if the older woman's words were hard and very confusing "Fine"

"Fine?" Kamiya echoed slowly

"Oh? Oh, yes! Fine! Dattebayo!" the girl exclaimed frenetically with a huge,-but fake-, smile.

Kamiya was about the offer the girl some sweets or something, but one of her assistants ran to her, telling her that right now the rest of the working staff is holding a meeting and that they need her ASAP. Kamiya nodded and ran with her; and Naruto stared at her back until she disappeared from her sight.

* * *

The whole meeting room was in chaos when Kamiya and her assistant came. It took some time to calm everyone as to regain some semblance of order. The reason behind such chaos: the orphanage was running in basically no funds. 

_"Things just keep getting better and better, right?"_

It wasn't exactly a surprise. The orphanage had always been poor; but lately it had been getting more and more outwardly difficult to maintain it. The winter had hit them hard, and what little savings they'd had had became payment to repair the damages the unforgiving storms had inflicted on them. But she'd calculated their finances, and she was sure they had enough to get by for a little more time. She didn't think the money was going to vanish in so quickly. For a moment she thought in the possibility of desfalcation, but she rapidly dismissed it, since she was the one who controlled all the economy within the institution.

Well, there's no point in crying over spilled milk. Now they had to figured out what they can do about it, and to whom they could ask for help.

A long time ago, she'd sent a missive to the old Konoha Council with one of the caretakers, to ask for bed linens, towels, and some first aid kits. Their response was that the village couldn't waste money in such trivial and pointless things. She angrily tore that cursed letter. Pointless things? In what they are spending so much money that they can't give _something_ to the orphanage? Obviously they are not an option.

There's always the Hokage, but it has been years and no matter how much she pleads for help, the Sandaime always ends up sending her home, with kind words but empty hands. Ahe know he tries so he can't truly be mad to him...

Asking to the working staff is not a choice either. She can see the earnestness on them but no matter how much good will they might have, she can't keep asking for contributions from their own pockets. They'd already done way too much. Sames goes for the civilians citizens. It's thanks to both of them that the orphanage is still standing.

_"Now what?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> What do you guys thinks about Akako Kamiya (my OC)? Do you dislike her for being a OC? Should I give her a larger role later on, or keep her as the easily forgotten and unremarkable caretaker from Naruto's early life? Keep in mind, in this fic no one knows (yet) that Naruto is the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, so she was well-cared cared by nurses and babysitters, but they're not *that* emotionally invested on her and just see her a one more kid. Akako is the same; she cares for Naruto in the same unspecific way she cares for the rest of the children at her charge. I'm not going to replace Iruka with her, but I still needed people to interact (positively) with Naruto in the early years, before Iruka enters the picture.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Threats in the Middle of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is terrible af. But meh.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes.

"No!"

"I won't repeat myself Naruto!"

"But it's gross 'ttebayo!"

"You're one to talk. Think I haven't seen how you keep your stuff always dirty?"

"Yes, but this is not just dirty, _this_ is gross!"

"_This_ is your punishment for harming your peers."

"But-"

"Just get quiet and start cleaning. I'm going to be back in half an hour and I want this to be clean by then!"

Geez. She didn't know the counselor-whatshername-old lady from the orphanage could be so mean.

Sulking a little, Naruto only grumbled a faint yes and started scrubbing inside the yellowish toilet bowl, her nose scrunched in pure disgust. Why they were punishing her? All because some tiny little prank!

Well, maybe it had been **that** little, but those boys certainly deserved it. They'd mocked Kiyomi- a girl around Naruto's age-, for her freckles-infested face, and when Naruto tried to intervene, they started calling her names: Whiskers, Weeping Whiskers, and the worst of all: Scarface.

She tried to be brave, but their words hurt her and at the end, her "courageous" intervention in behalf of Kiyomi ended up with both girls in tears, thus reinforcing Naruto's reputation around the orphanage as the girl who cried for everything.

But once she calmed down, she started planning her revenge. She was so creative with pranks for a girl so young. She made sure to sprinkle some itching powder in their foods the next day, and seeing them scratching their tongues (all while crazily running around in circles) was so funny! Yes, very cruel, but funny!

Thinking back, getting back on those boys was worth the bathroom-cleaning up. Still, if only she hadn't left the itching powder packet laying her bed...

* * *

Since the orphanage was running on its last legs, certain adjustments in its internal estructure had to be made. Fancy words aside, that meant that a large part of the working staff had to be fired to save some money. But at least all of them got a generous pension to compensate them for all their loyal years of service.

Until now, the kids had lived a mostly cushy life playing, sleeping and eating and only doing the things kids their age did. But now they were going to be forced to do chores to do the work that it was normally covered by the people who got fired. Doing chores wasn't even a unusual thing to do, but in the years since Kamiya took charge, she'd insisted in letting the kids enjoy their carefree years as long as possible, and the most chores they ever did was to made their beds and sweep their rooms.

Most of them had accepted without complaints. Not all of them, though.

> _'"N_ _o way 'ttebayo! I'm not a servant!" Naruto yelled loudly. Her, doing chores? Hell no! And based by the some of the nods from the rest of the kids, they agreed too._
> 
> _Kaito, the 'sitter who told them the "bad" news that day, stared at them in sheer annoyance. Now he was remembering the reason why he was initially so reluctant to take this job. He hated bratty kids. He should've just stayed as a fisherman._
> 
> _Not only that little shit thought she was too good to do domestic chores, but the rest too? They had obviously been way too lenient with those kids; as they thought too much of themselves for a bunch of paupers orphans who lived off the charity._
> 
> _"Not you're not a servant, you're a brat who has nothing but us" the girl looked like she had been punched, and Kaito did feel a bit bad for it, but he didn't back down "and anyone who lives here and depends on us should follow **our** rules" He threw a withering glare to the peanut gallery for good measure, and he was satisfied to see they shyly shuffling their feet._

But fire people was only one of the first things they'd thought to do for reduce costs. They still had a lot of work to look forward.

* * *

Only five or so minutes after Naruto started scrubbing the toilet, the bell rang signaling that it was time for their reading classes. Naruto _sucked_ at those, yet she'd never been so thankful for them like now.

They received their reading and writing classes in a rundown room that almost resembled a library. But despite its bad state, it was a very quaint place, painted in pastel colors, with all the characters of the three writing systems fixed on the walls, along with some educative decals. It was one of Naruto's favorite places in the whole house.

She grabbed her notebook, her carbon pen and her syllabary; and picked out a random chair in the already crammed chamber.

She's almost gotten the hang of _Hiragana,_ yet most of the others were already moving on _Katakana._ Their teacher started going on and on about the differences in the pronunciation of both systems, and she tried to pay attention, she honestly did, but it was_ so_ boring. So, taking advantage of her position (she was sitting in the last row), she ripped a page from her notebook and started doodling colorful crayons, big faces carved in stone; and a giant orange fox of several tails with a sordid, resentful gaze in its eyes. Those three things are her first memories _ever_.

The crayons are,-well-, normal. Since she was old enough to grab things and not put them in her mouth, she always keeps crayons with her, alongside a booklet for kids. That's because she loves to draw. Loves to draw all the stuff she sees around her. She isn't good at it, but she keeps trying anyway.

The faces carved in stone is the sight that greets her every day across the window upon waking up. Their caretaker had told them that those faces belonged to the Hokages, the leaders of Konoha, the village where they lived, and the reason why they were there it was to remind to the villagers that, even if all except one of the Hokages were dead, they were still present in spirit, overseeing the progress of the new generations and passing their Will of Fire to them. Whatever that means.

But she can't really explain the Fox. It's one of her first memories, so vivid to her that she almost thought that she had actually seen it. Except that obviously that's not the case, because everyone around her would know if she has ever has had any contact with a giant orange fox.

The first nights she dreamed about the fox, she always awoke crying, wetting the bed; and it took a lot of deep breaths and many glasses of water for her to calm down. But she could perceive that her roommates got annoyed with her because she was interrupting their sleep as well. So eventually she forced herself to calm down, stifling her cries with pillows and hiding the soiled sheets.

"Naruto Uzumaki! What are you doing?" her teacher's shrill voice exclaimed, apparently catching up to the fact she wasn't doing nothing related to the class.

"Um...Nothing!" she yelled back, expertly hiding the page underneath her so no one could see her doodle of the fox.

* * *

"Let's see, three thousand ryos plus fifteen thousand sixty ryos equals to eighteen thousand sixty ryos, and that amount multiplied by the twelve months of the year is-"

"Boss, can we get more coffee?"

"Wasn't there still some in the coffee machine?" 

"It's cold already!"

"Ugh!"

It was pretty late at night, in fact it wasn't even night but already early morning. However sleepless nights weren't unusual for Kamiya, so it didn't bother her to stay awake the whole night to do the books. Her two other companions; Shinji and Suki, were a different story. They'd stayed to help her, and although she appreciated the sentiment, they had stopped being helpful a long time ago, with their heads more worried about the coffee to stay awake than to, you know, staying awake to **actually** do work.

In top of that, she'd revised the numbers and those weren't promising. Cut back the staff by half had saved them some money, but it wasn't enough to sufray all their expenses.

So it was when in the middle of brainstorming news ideas, new tryouts and new activities they could do to raise money, that she heard a aged voice say-

** "Young people shouldn't stay awake so late" **

It took every bit of her shinobi training to not jump out of her skin at the unexpected interruption. And it took every bit of her self-restrain to stop herself from whipping out the kunai and the exploding sealing tag she kept disguised as a ink stamp in her desk. Because she knew **that** voice. It had been years since she last had heard it, but she would never forget it.

Shinji and Suki weren't so controlled though. They actually jumped in surprise and, in Suki's case, she also screamed in fright. Or more like she_ tried_ to because as soon as she opened her mouth, she was silenced by a random cloth tissue being stuffed into her mouth. They did the same to Shinji.

The man who had spoke earlier advanced through her office in an evenly pace, with the typical air of someone who has everything under control. His robes and his cane did softsounds as they slighty grazed against the wooden floor. But those were deliberate sounds of course, as he was capable to move as silently as a cat. He stopped walking when he reached her desk, and put himself in front of it, expectantly.

But despite him being right in front of her, Kamiya's gaze didn't connect with his immediately. Instead her eyes were on the man's two shadows, because those two were the ones holding her workers hostage, who looked scared out their minds.

They weren't regular ANBUs, but Fu and Torume, the dream team among Konoha's most dangerous and amoral organization. Their presence could mean really, **really **bad news for her.

Tacitly accepting her helplessness in this situation, her brown eyes slowly but willingly connected with ROOT's leader's sole one.

"Danzo-sama"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> Damn, I so suck writing slice of life. Anyone who can write it and make it interesting deserves a medal. So part of me was relieved when I was writing this chapter because it's the chapter where the plot kind of starts. Well, more or less, it's going to be a canon retelling/canon rewrite for the most part. Or maybe not...
> 
> Oh, and thanks to everyone who has left kudos. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that such a slow, boring story that doesn't even have the 10,000 words just yet has already reached the 100-kudos-benchmark.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings on Market Stalls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horrible, boring-ass chapter.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes.

If there was one thing the orphanage of Konoha had always had _in abundance, _was an ample selection of plants and crops. Located and built in a space of 7 acres, the place had small sized-gardens where onions, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers and lettuces were cultivated, among other things. A milky cow and a couple of goats were there too.

Most of the food consumed in the orphanage comes from there. In fact, such independence had allowed them to withstand some of the hardest times.

Previously, the employees were the ones in charge of the care of the gardens. But nowadays the children were included in that task too, a good thing considering they needed more working hands to try to obtain excess produce for sale.Too bad they had not quite succeeded, at least not for their own expectations.

But they still had gotten a couple of extra sacks full with veggies, ready to be sold in the _Ukemochi_ Farmer Market, that took place every Saturday in the central plaza of Konoha.

* * *

_A month and half after last chapter's events_

Kamiya had planned a day of isolation in her office, relaxing and dealing only with her paperwork. Too bad those plans went down to the pipe when she spotted Shinji and Suki waiting for her in her office. She saluted them and stepped inside, dropping heavily into her chair and beginning to work on her paperwork instantly.

The situation lasted for a minute, with the room in total silence except for their breaths and that of Kamiya's pencil when it scratched the pages. But Shinji's patience snapped.

"Kamiya-san, we need to talk" the younger man said, quite seriously. At his right was Suki nodding vigorously.

"About?" she asked nonchalantly, not even looking up from her papers.

Shinji wasn't amused "You know about what!" he hissed. Then, calming himself a little, he continued "Look, we've tried to give you your space, trying to not suffocate you and all that. But we can't do that anymore"

"If this is about Danzo-sama-"

"Of course it's about him! What are we going to tell him?

"Didn't you remember what I said? I already told him no"

"No? Just...no?" This time was Suki who spoke, incredulity seeping from her voice.

At such question, Kamiya finally looked up and focused her attention on them "Why the surprise? I really hope you weren't actually expecting us to take up on his offer. Or did you?"

Suki did a horrified face at her insinuation "No! 'Course not! But Kamiya-san, we may haven't known or even heard about Danzo-sama until, well, you know, but it's pretty obvious he's quite dangerous."

Kamiya didn't say anything. And so Suki continued, a little surer than before.

"And because he's dangerous, I don't think he's going to let us get off the hook with a simple** no**"

Kamiya sighed. The truth was that her calm atittude was mostly a fachade. She'd barely slept on all those weeks due to worry. Thankfully Shinji and Suki had remained quiet to the others about this, so the situation hadn't turned anymore stressful than it already is.

"And what do you suggest we do, then?" she tiredly questioned them. Suki lights up at the idea of being asked what to do, though.

"I think we should talk to Hokage-sama"

"That's out the question." she flatly replied.

"What?" Shinji yelled "Why not?

Kamiya rubbed her temples "We **can't** talk to Hokage-sama. Danzo is the Sandaime's right hand, the _Sasaukage_ you could say. He has lots of power and influence, besides a voice within the Sandaime's trusted inner circle. Defy him and accuse him of things that- I've to add-; we have absolutely no _tangible proof_, well, it could became more dangerous for us at the long run."

"But.. Even so...Danzo-sama threatened our children Kamiya-san. I'm sure Hokage-sama would never let something like that slide" Suki stated, voice shy but hopeful.

Kamiya bit her lip. It was kind of an open secret who ROOT "employed" to do its dirtier deeds. But there's always a chance the Sandaime would be utterly unaware of this, right? Danzo is slippery after all. And despite the anger she'd experimented in the past thanks to some of the Sandaime's actions, she agreed with Suki. He's a good man who wouldn't never let something so despicable to happen on his watch.

She reclined on her chair a little, recalling the visit of the old warmonger.

> _"So, Danzo-sama, may I ask what prompted you to visit us?"_
> 
> _They weren't in Kamiya's office anymore but in a bigger room behind it, with a large table and some comfy-looking settees. Akako and Danzo had seated in opposites sides of the table, each one with a steaming cup of green tea, although only Akako had touched hers. A plate of senbei had been served, but remained untouched as well. Shinji and Suki were there too, thankfully not longer gagged but still flanked by Fu and Torume._
> 
> _All of them were acting as if this was some impromptu visit instead of a passive-agressive ambush at the middle of the night._
> 
> _"I came because of the orphanage. It's pretty obvious this place is falling onto pieces. A real shame." Danzo says neutrally, yet Kamiya feels pretty offended at his words._
> 
> _An orphanage can't be a substitute for a real home with a real family. But in Akako's opinion, she and the staff have done a pretty good job so far, in spite of the disadvantages. The children are fed and clothed. She also does extensive background checks on every employee; to make sure none of them end up secretly being child abusers and thus avoid some of the horrors that tend to transpire in such places._
> 
> _"I **hardly** think that's the case Danzo-sama. We may not have money but we do the best we can" Kamiya says in the most calm voice she has, but harshness is still present in her voice._
> 
> _Danzo looks at her blankly, and_ _ Kamiya almost winces because of it._
> 
> _"Regardless, you still have serious monetary problems" he says, not as a question but as a statement "Even with all your efforts, the end of this institution seems imminent"_
> 
> _Akako can't hide how surprised she feels, although she really shouldn't be. Danzo is the shadow of Konoha, he has eyes and ears everywhere. But still...how can this man know about that? Why does he care? Wait, **does he cares?**_
> 
> _"How, how do you know about that?" the question is obvious and idiotic, but she still wants to know._
> 
> _Danzo dismisses her query with a handwave **"**That's not important. Now, Kamiya Akako, I have to ask you: what are you willing to do to save this place?"_
> 
> _"Trick question? Maybe, but she still has to answer. "A lot of things"_
> 
> _" There are some kids in this place who could... be of use"_
> 
> _"What?" Shinji yelped, before being shushed by Fu. On the other hand, Akako already has a feeling to where this goes to..._
> 
> _"Some of the youngsters here seem promising. They would be put under ROOT's care and get earlier training. They would've the honor of being at the service of Konoha, while the rest of their peers will enjoy a peaceful childhood as long as it lasts. I'm willing to offer you a handsome donation for this"_
> 
> _So, in other words, this man wants her to sell him some kids?_
> 
> _Of course, what else would this man want? After all, who are the ones that make up the bulk of the workforce behind ROOT?_
> 
> _She has about what happened to her predecessor, Nonō Kabushi. The official story is that Kabushi had gotten into a fight in some missing nins while she was in a travel near Earth Country. But the walls had ears on its own and the hushed whispers in them keep pointing at Danzo as the real culprit behind her death._
> 
> _And even if those rumors weren't true, it doesn't mean that Danzo wouldn't dispose of her,-as quickly and efficiently as possible-, if she ever dares to try to be a threat to him._
> 
> _And despite knowing that, she already has her answer. "Thank you for the offer Danzo-sama. But I'm afraid I have to decline it"_
> 
> _From the corner of her right eye, she sees Shinji and Suki stiffen at hearing her negative. They're not ninjas, but they're savvy enough to know that the actions after a negative are usually not good ones._
> 
> _But surprisingly, Danzo doesn't seem bothered about this, nor his followers. It's quite the opposite to the literal bloodbath she thought it was going to be._
> 
> _Instead, he seems decided to make her agree with words, not violence "Kamiya-san, you seem like a reasonable person. So you must already be aware that no matter how many goods you sell, nothing but an inmediate and heavy sum of money can solve the situation of this place"_
> 
> _Thankfully, Kamiya has the perfect counterpoint for that argument. _ _"Well, the Hokage and the Council can take of the children once they're of age to enter the Academy-"_
> 
> _"That would only happen to orphan children with special abilities or coming from Clans. Unfortunately, the rest of them would be left to their own luck." Or not._
> 
> _"Hokage-sama-"_
> 
> _"Hokage-sama wouldn't do anything. He can't, really. There's only so much orphans this village can take care of."_
> 
> _Kamiya opens her mouth but no words come out. She knows she's more arguments in her favor, but it was like all the steam has left her. _
> 
> _With his objective completed, Danzo stands up to leave with his faithful bodyguards, but not before letting away the opportunity of getting the final word._
> 
> _ "Think about my offer Kamiya-san. I don't need all that many children, just a few select ones who would be trained to protect Konoha"_

Ending her remembrances, Kamiya sighed at the anxious looks Shinji and Suki were giving her. They seemed so eager for a positive answer of hers, that she gave in, even if rather reluctantly.

"Fine, just give a couple days to do an appointment. We're going to talk to Hokage-sama as soon as possible"

* * *

_Ubemochi_ Farmer Market was always a swarm of commercial activity. It was a noisy place where the voice of buyers and shoppers became one, only interrupted by the sounds of chickens and cattle. But that day the market was particulary noisy and packed. According to Kamiya-rōba, it was they were near to the date of _Hōnensai,_ the harvest festival in Fire Country.

They'd put their stall in a lonely corner in the crowded market, protected by some gaudy tent. It looked...insufficient, specially if compared to some of the biggest stalls there.

Well, at least their stall had more helpers too, although none by choice..

From where she was standing, surrounded by half a dozen of her peers, Naruto vibrated with nervous energy. It was the first time that she'd been outside the orphanage, and she was so excited by it. Even if they weren't going to do anything fun, just stand there and look as adorable as possible to attract customers.

Some of the adults gave her pity looks. At first she didn't get it, until she saw their gazes were on the marks in her cheeks. A shameful blush showered her face at it. She knew they were ugly, but to pity her because of it?

But in the bright side, most of those adults ended up approaching their stall to buy.

The hours flew by. And it was in the afternoon, near closing time, when Naruto felt like someone was staring at her. She whipped her head at the direction of it,-thinking it was another sympathetic adult-, but was actually a little girl just like her. When she saw Naruto had caught her, she quickly hid her face on the shoulder of the woman (her mother?) carrying her.

The woman noticed how agitated the girl in her arms was, and turned to the direction they were in to see what had caused such behavior. Ah, and there was no doubt that woman was the little girl's mother, as she was basically the lady's carbon copy. Same pale skin, same round-shaped face, and black hair that looked kind of purplish too. They also had eyes that didn't seem to have any pupils on them, white as those were. But it didn't look as weird or ugly as it sounded.

The woman waved affably, and came to their stall to buy...something. She wasn't paying attention. Instead she was looking at the girl still hiding herself from her. To ease the tension, Naruto put on her "best" face; with a smile so wide that scrunched her face and made her whiskers all the more visible.

It was an ugly and goofy smile, not "dazzling" as Naruto seemed to think, but it did its job. The girl slowly raised her head and their eyes did visual contact, impressive considering how shy the seemingly pupil-less-eyed girl was. And she sent a smile of her own at Naruto. Reserved and uncertain, but a smile nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> I've planned to make Naruto meet Sasuke in this chapter. Yet, when inspiration hit me, it demanded Hinata instead.
> 
> Are Shinji and Suki similar to Sasuke and Sakura, or it's just me? :v
> 
> Ukemochi is a goddess of food in the Shinto religion of Japan, daughter of Izanagi and Izanami.
> 
> Last but no least: I know you guys probably don't want to hear from me the same things you hear on the news (fanfics are escapism) but please, follow the instructions given to prevent coronavirus. The sickness itself only has a tiny 2% of risk of death, but it's pretty contagious and that's precisely the problem.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flower Pressing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terrible chapter. And difficult to write as well.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes.

Spring was the nicest and prettiest season for most, and that was specially true for those who inhabited Konogakure. Housed at the feet of a hill, the village had a privileged view of when the flowers started blooming, and of the trees getting greener and glossier leaves.

Unfortunately such view had remained almost unseen this year, since a strong and sudden heat wave had invaded the first week of that month of March, and so most of the villagers had decided to remain inside their homes, trying futilely to alleviate the heat with ice boxes and ventilators.

However, now Saturdays were Sale days for the people from Konoha Orphanage. So not matter the weather, they had no choice but to drag the "volunteer" children's asses to the market and plant them in their little corner. Of course, the caretakers had to go to, but it was agreed that only one of them was necessary, and since Kaito was the newbie, the "honor" fell on him.

Poor Kaito. And the worst was that it was not only his turn, but the children he had to take were some of the most unbearable ones. As if on cue...

"You two stop!" he yelled at Haru and Haruto, the twins currently engrossed in a fistfight of theirs. Yui, Yuri and Sara were also sticking tongues and pulling hair. Naruto wasn't fighting, thank God, but she had been complaining _nonstop _since they left their home. He told her to shut up once he had gotten tired from her whining, but that only worked by five minutes until she started complaining_ again._

"Scold us is all you ever do!"

"Yeah, Whiskers is right" Yui lazily said with a chewing gum in her teeth.

"WHAT?!"

Kaito didn't like Naruto, but even he thought those nicknames were hurtful. Then again, children are children, they usually end up growing out of that behavior. So he quickly calmed the storm by separating them and gently rubbing circles in the back of Naruto's small neck.

The girl did calm down, but still huffed and crossed her arms "And it still is so hot 'ttebayo..." She pouted mournfully.

Every week it was rotated who were going to be the children to go to the market as helpers, and that week it wasn't Naruto's turn. But usually she ended up accompanying them anyways, although she hated to help. Then why did she do it? Well, it was because every week, without fail, Hinata and her mom came to the market to buy, and Naruto didn't want to miss a opportunity to be with her new friend. Wait, was Hinata her friend? She had to be! 

And Naruto was usually excited at the idea of seeing her, but now not even her could muster her usual enthusiasm. With this weather the only thing she wanted was to lay in some hammock and sleep the heat away.

Kaito looked at them with that sour-old-man-face he always had, but he took some pity on them and bought them popsicles as consolation. Or maybe he bought them because he was hot too and so he wanted one as well. Either way, they quickly devorated their treats like hungry munchkins, all while impatiently waiting for the day to be over.

Naruto spent the whole morning bagging leeks, potatoes, and beans. Normally Hinata showed up at the market at first hour, and not seeing her only increased her bad mood. The rest of the orphan crowd wasn't any better, if their muttering was any indication.

Just when Naruto thought Hinata wasn't going to come, she managed to spot the other girl; with her hair shorter and her yukata a little more loose. But this time her mother wasn't with her, but a man who was holding an umbrella over Hinata, protecting her from the harsh sunrays.

Forgetting a little of the insufferable heat, Naruto jogged and got ahead to meet Hinata "Hi Hinata-chan!" she happily said.

"Um, hi, Naruto-san" Hinata's greeting was quieter but still warm.

Naruto's eyes fell on the man currently fussing over her friend "Who's him Hinata-chan? Is he your daddy?" Naruto asked in a whisper-shout.

Hinata giggled a little at such assumption "No, Seiko-san here isn't my father. He's my...caretaker" she finished with certain vacillation.

Oblivious to her friend's hesitation, Naruto turned to the other man. His eyes were way creepier than Hinata's yet he had a polite smile "A caretaker? So you're like Kaito teme?"

**WHAP!**

"Ow!"

"What did you call me brat?" Kaito, who appeared who knows when, was red-faced out of pure anger, and even Naruto started to feel really nervous about it.

"Ehhhh, nothing" she said while rubbing the bump on her head.

"Oh really? I heard you calling me a **teme**" Kaito got even redder,-if that were possible-, at pronunciating the last word.

Uh oh. 

"From where did you heard that word?" From one of the older kids. In reality Naruto had no idea what a "teme" was, but the older kid had used it as an insult, so she supposed it was a "mean" word.

Yet, Kaito didn't wait for the explanation to the answer he himself had posed, angry as he was. "You're in so much trouble once we get back Naruto!"

"Arh, arh" Seiko-san cleared his throat, in order to get back their attention. Kaito's anger dissipated as fast as it came, and hastly started bowing in apologize, and Naruto just kept grinning like she hadn't just gotten scolded.

Seiko started buying supplies. Kaito was sure they could buy whatever they needed somewhere else, but they chose to buy in their stall as a courtesy to Naruto. Well, at least that disrespectful brat was good for some things sometimes. Like befriending the Hyuga heiress.

When Seiko finished with the groceries, he told Hinata he was going to look around for some toiletries, and queried her if she wanted to accompany him. Hinata politely declined, saying she preferred to stay with Naruto a little bit. The man's face soured at hearing that yet he nodded and agreed, but not without sending a very dirty look to Naruto and shamelessly whispering some harsh words to Hinata's ear. As he turned around, the two girls looked at each other, both of them thinking the same thing.

Naturally, Naruto was the first one to open her mouth "I don't think he likes me that much dattebayo" Naruto bluntly said, glaring at the man's back.

Hinata blushed "I-I don't think is that Naruto-san. I-I think he just didn't like the way you spoke to Kaito-san. He thinks it's rude" she finished in a rush, embarrrased at spilling the beans so easily.

At that Naruto's mouth clamped shut. Was she rude? But Kaito was rude with them too! So she was only returning the favor right?

But Hinata wasn't rude. She always spoke with honorifics, she even called Naruto "Naruto-san". Naruto did love how polite Hinata was, and probably that Seiko did too. Perhaps he saw her as a bad influence on Hinata, and holy crap what if he was right? Because even she was aware that she could be a big mouth.

_"Maybe I should be more like Hina-chan" _Naruto thought feeling a tiny bit disheartened.

* * *

The heat didn't make distintions between Genins and Kages, so Sarutobi Hiruzen's office was as hot as the rest of the village. But the Sandaime didn't look much affected by it. Kamiya, on the other hand, felt like the heat had peeled off her skin.

She had been in the Hokage's office hundreds of times, but it was the first time she had felt so helpless there. She wasn't clad in the typical black-and-gray ANBU uniform, with a _tantō _strapped at her waist. This time she was weaponless, wearing a impractical dress and short heels. But it was her porcelain mask the thing she missed the most. She had never realized how much he relied on her mask for safety, until now.

"Kamiya-san, I didn't expect you to see you here. I took me by surprise when my secretary told me you were here."

Kamiya laughed humorlessly "Hehe, yeah, I suppose"

"But if this is about money, I've to tell you-"

"Non, no, no, it's not that" Kamiya hurried to say, not noticing how rudely she'd interrupted her Hokage. But he let it slide, curious about what was what it had the normally composed Kamiya in such a state.

The former ANBU started to smooth her dress with her hands, obviously trying to buy herself some time. The Sandaime noticed it, and correctly guessed whatever she was going to say wasn't going to be pleasant.

"There's nothing you cannot tell me" he tried to encourage her with a smile. 

Inmediately, Kamiya stopped her hands. She tried to put a brave face, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"I just don't know how to say this"

"Just try okay?"

The woman breathed and exhaled profoundly. All right, she was going to do this quickly and painlessly, like ripping off a band-aid, as cliche as that sounded.

"Danzo-sama came to me to tell me he was willing to help the orphanage, but in exchange of giving him some of the children as potential members of ROOT" she said in a single breath.

Her Hokage's eyes widened at her rushed words. The Sandaime was a man unafraid to show care, amusement, pride and even anger. But she had never seen him show something akin to surprise, and so those widened eyes are the most of that emotion he's ever shown in her presence.

But why is he so surprised? There had already been a couple of incidents of Danzo forcefully trying to recruit someone within his ranks. Of course, in those cases it hadn't been orphan, civilian children not even old enough to go to the Academy, but full-fledged ninjas. Either way, he might not be aware of Danzo's seedier businesses, but even a obtuse person knows how unpopular Danzo is, due to his unyielding and conservative actions. 

And then it hits her: had anyone _ever_ complained about Danzo before? Publicly? Danzo was so disliked, that she imagined that at least _someone else_ before had tried to put a stop at him.

Apparently not. People were scared from Danzo, and rightly so, and now it seemed that he was so _feared _that _no one_ had ever _tried_ had even said a thing against him. Except for her of course. The stupid, _stupid_ former-ANBU who has now tattled to the Hokage, the most untouchable man in Konnoha, about his right-hand man's misdeeds, who's the other most untouchable man in Konoha. Fucking shit.

"What else Danzo told you?" The Sandaime interrogated, interrupting her inner panic.

Danzo. Not "Danzo-sama". Well, they'd worked together for so long, that formalities are meaningless, she reasoned. But even so, treating each other without formalities is one thing, but speaking to a third person about the other without using honorifics is another.

"Not much. Just that I should think in his offer"

"Anything else?" He insisted.

Kamiya sighed "No"

The Sandaime didn't ask more, but his eyes were still fixed on her, making her wonder what he was going to do.

But the unexpected happened, when he just looked away and picked a seemingly random document from the piIe of papers sitting on his desk. "I received a letter of Kumo, that I've to attend inmediately"

What had that that to do with anything?

The Hokage stood up, and in reflex Kamiya stood up too. To her surprise, the Hokage placed his arm over her shoulders, as if they were old friends. Together that way, they walked towards the door.

The Sandaime started reading the document, but she couldn't read it due to the awkward angle the paper was positioned. "Kamiya-san, I'm afraid we have to cut his conversation short. But you've my word: Danzo won't try to do anything to your children again"

Kamiya wanted to ask more and know what actions he was going to take. But she stayed quiet as her ANBU instincts about not asking questions kicked in.

* * *

In the later hours of the afternoon, the heat got a little more bearable. Most clients had already fled out of fear of getting some nasty sunburns. But Seiko-san hadn't returned just yet, and so Hinata and Naruto were taking advantage of it, sitting and chilling in some old beach chair they had found abandoned.

Naruto was curious about why Hinata's mom wasn't with her today, and although Hinata wasn't eager to talk about it, she still answered "My mother doesn't take well the heat. She always gets sick from it"

"But she's going be fine right 'ttebayo?"

"I-I guess so. I mean, that's what Father says"

Hinata had seen how weak her mother seemed, sprawled all over the _tatami_ in the main room, panting like a broken horse. But Father had told them that Mother was going to be fine and Father wasn't a liar.

Hinata had been reluctant to leave her side. But her mother had convinced her to go and visit Naruto, all while gently rubbing her fat stomach. Hinata fearfully eyed the action, her mother's belly seemed to get bigger and bigger everyday, and that seemed to make her more fragile as well. When Hinata said that to her mother, the woman just laughed it off and told her not to worry.

Thye stayed quiet after that, something rare since Naruto was such a chatterbox, and that started to fill Hinata with anxiety. Was she too boring? What could she say to keep the conversation going? Should she tell her about her training with Father? No, better not. She didn't want to think in the dissapointed looks her father sent her way when he thought no one was looking. She hadn't even dominated the basic stance of the Gentle-Fist style, a fact that displeases Father greatly, since Neji, only a year older than her, had already perfected it. And barring her training, the only remotely interesting thing she does is...

"Do you like to press flowers?" Hinata stammered hesitantly, hoping she didn't sound too dumb.

"Eh? What's that?" Naruto asked with a confused frown.

"Oh, it's this" Instead of telling her, Hinata just showed her. She'd bring templates of it and in them it could be seen those pressed flowers, fastened to the paper with glue, and for better preservation the pages had been placed in crystal frames, alike to the ones where photos were put.

"This is so pretty!" Naruto said clapping "You're really good at this Hina-chan!"

"Um, but these aren't mine, but my mother's" Hinata admitted embarrassed "Um, these are mine" she told while showing some of her handywork to Naruto. Unlike the previously-showed examples, these ones were a lot less aesthetic, with the flowers badly plastered and its petals almost ripped off the stems. It was obviously a small child's work.

But that didn't deter Naruto's enthusiasm "But these ones are pretty too!"

Hinata smiled sincerely "Thank you, Naruto-san"

"Can you show me how you do it?" the whiskered girl inquired with a eager bounce.

"Eh? Oh, sure!" Hinata agreed "Ahhh, right now?" she squeaked when she saw Naruto's expectant look.

"Yep, why not?

"But what about the business?"

"Bah, there's almost no one around" she argued, and in effect, the market was almost desert with the exception of themselves and some vendors. It was almost 5 o' clock after all.

"But we have to ask permission to Kaito-san" They looked at Kaito's direction, who was busy packing up something, but had still heard a bit of their conversation without intending to.

The man only did a vague motion with his hand at them "Go. You still have to wait for Seiko-san anyways. Just don't go too far, okay? Some people will kill me if any of you get lost "

Naruto grinned and grabbed Hinata's wrist, not hearing the latter's surprised squeal, and took her to a puddle with some yellowish little flowers growing around it 

"Come on, show me!"

Hinata nervously smiled, ripped a flower and rubbed its petals "You pick the flowers without spots. They can't be wet, so these are um good"

The indigo-haired girl then picked a colored pebble and did some hitting motions over the flowers with her tiny fist "Um, you press them with something heavy, and leave them between the pages of a book for a week."

"Well, that's easy! But a week? That's too long 'ttebayo!"

"Well, um, you just have to be patient. With love and patience, nothing is impossible" Hinata told her, remembering a adage her nanny Akane liked to say.

Naruto didn't know that, so she was floored at Hinata's "wisdom" "You're so smart 'ttebayo."

Hinata blushed madly at her words. "Oh, thanks Naruto-san" 

"Oh, what else I was going to tell you? Oh, right, can you give one of those?" Naruto asked. Then, remembering her manners, she added "Please!"

"These?" Hinata repeated confused. What was what Naruto was asking for?

"Yes, those, there, how do you call them? Well, there where you have the pressed flowers" Naruto answered with her hands moving wildly.

"Ah, you mean the templates. But why do you want one? Hinata inquired with curiosity.

"Yeah, those thingies. I wanna have one to try to do them and see if I am doing well" Hinata smiled and happily gave her one.

The pale-eyed girl was so happy of having shared her favorite hobbie with her friend. If Naruto wanted a sample, maybe that meant she was going to have someone besides her mother to do flower pressing with her.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Konoha Council didn't get together solely with the purpose of serve as a non-arbitrary agent in the Hokage's decision making during the village's most critical moments. While its main function was that, they also got together to make decisions in affairs that could be considered inconsequential or commonplace for most, but they still did it.

And that day, they'd reunited for a subject that was, indeed, inconsequential and commonplace. Far more interesting was seeing Hiruzen boring holes at a side of Danzo's face.

He wasn't being obvious about it, in fact anyone else surely would have missed it. Because, for all his affability, Hiruzen was a truly a master in masking his thoughts, being careful to only show emotions when it suited him.

But Homura had been their teammate too, so he could pick up the subtler signs.

Koharu obviously had noticed as well; but she ignored it and concentrated solely in the meeting. A wise thing to do in Homura's opinion. These two had had many disagreements, specially in the last years, but they'd always know when to put their differences behind them and work for Konoha's greater good. Koharu wasn't worried, and neither was Homura, but he was admittedly curious.

Danzo's face was blank and his body language indicated calmness, and it almost looked like he was oblivious at Hiruzen's stares, but Homura knew better. He was proven right it when after an hour of constant glares, Danzo turned around, with no expression whatsoever in his battered face, and nonchalantly asked Hiruzen about the elephant in the room.

"You have something to tell me Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen held Danzo's gaze unflinchingly. He tapped the table with his pipe three times, producing resounding and hollow sounds.

"Nothing I can think of"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> I tried to write realistic(ish) 4/5-years-olds, but it's so fucking hard. Yes, I'm aware this is a fic based in a anime, and in anime 12-years-old have the maturity most adults wished they did have, but still.....
> 
> And I've no imagination to write dialogue, that's why I usually end up writing too little dialogue between the characters.
> 
> Take care, specially if the country where you live is in quarantine. Wash your hands and stay at home okay?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mostly Hinata-centric chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very meh chapter.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes.

A lot of small kids were terrified of darkness and Hinata was one of them. That's why her mother had bought her a small lamp to keep on all night, not that she ever used it anymore, as doing it irritated her father a lot. She hated waking up at midnight for the same reason.

But that night she really wanted to urinate. Out of fear, she tried to hold on, until the pressure in her bladder became too much and she had to got up. She was relieved when she finally found the switch and the lights went on.

After relieving herself, she didn't feel sleepy anymore and decided to take a walk to soothe her sleepiness. But the sound of murmurs and footsteps distracted her. She approached the place where the noise probably came from; which was one of the most recondite rooms of the left wing of the manor.

A couple of people came and went, but they always made sure to lock up the room behind them. Hinata leaned against the _shōji _doors to hear what they were talking about, being prey of her childish inquisitiveness. And feeling somewhat daring, she also did the required hand signals to awaken her Byakugan. 

There were many Clan members in the candle-lit room, mainly those of the main family but some of the branch house were there too. Father was at the center, and behind him there were a few of old people that she could vaguely recognize as the Clan Elders. Hinata didn't know what the Clans Elders did, but they were important, she knew that much. They also were present in some of her training sessions with Father.

But what surprised and unnerved her was seeing her mother laying at Father's feet, sweating profusely and with only a light blanket covering her. And in spite of th e woman's obvious distress, not one seemed to want to help her.

One of the Clan Elders, one she recognized as Shiza-sama, went and knelt down near her mother. The Elder moved her mother's shirt and blanket and activated her Byakugan, eyes fixed on the younger woman's bare stomach. After a moment, she did a sound of approval. "You were right Himari-san, her chakra is strong for her age."

Even in her feverish state, the woman weakly grinned up at her husband, but the Hyuuga Patriarch didn't return the smile.

Hinata was confused. So the Elder was saying her mother's chakra was strong? But then why Father was so serious? Wasn't that a good thing?

"And her health?"

A non-Hyuuga man dressed as a medic knelt next to Shiza-sama and started taking vital signs and doing a general examination on the lying woman.

"She has a mild fever, but otherwise the rest of her vital signs are fine and she doesn't present another complications"

Her mother's grin widened and the tension behind Father's eyes lessened a bit.

There was whispering conversations among everyone. One of the men to his father's right took a step forward "So now we have in our hands a potential new heiress?"

Hinata gulped. A new Heiress? But wasn't _she_ the heiress? Her mother was the heiress now?

"A strong chakra is not a guarantee of anything" Another voice spoke.

"I'm afraid that's true. It is a start though. We cannot afford to be left behind, or we're going to end up being seen as second-rate Uchihas"

"Oh yes, the Uchihas" One of the Elder mused scornfully "Did you know what I found out today? The eldest has just became Chuunin" There was a lot of envy hidden behind that gossipy tone of his.

"Chuunin? But isn't he just 9?" exclaimed a young teenage girl, who somehow had been admitted into the meeting.

"Ten" Hiashi corrected, much to Hinata's surprise. It was the first time she'd seen him talk during the meeting "The Uchiha heir is the youngest person to became Chuunin during peacetime period; not even a real surprise anyways considering he graduated of the Academy at 7. The youngest is Hinata's age and rumor has it he's already displayed talent. No as much as the eldest though"

"And why they haven't said anything? I imagine Fugaku Uchiha would be the first to want to show up his little prodigy"

"Right, they are keeping the whole thing very hush-hush. Seems like the Uchihas want to keep it as a surprise for as long as they can"

"All the more reason to take very advantage we can get. Luckily the Hokage-"

Her Father held up his hand, silencing whatever another Elder was going to say "Now, before we go on...why don't you just come out of your hideaway Hinata?

Hinata wasn't able to stop a high-pitched gasp. They knew she was here, they knew! Why couldn't the earth just swallow her? Anything would be a better alternative than to have to face this. The _shōji _doors abruptly opened, exposing the unprepared girl to everyone's view, and without meaning to Hinata lowered her head embarrased.

"Now, now Hinata, come inside and salute. Don't be rude"

The girl slowly walked inside. And with her head already lowered, it didn't take too much to just curl up a bit to make a proper bow.

"Although being rude is clearly a custom of yours, a custom that neither I nor your mother have taught you of course. What were you doing there, hidden behind the doors like some common thief?" Father's tone was icy and Hinata felt those hardened words like hammers to the chest.

_"Hinata"_ her mother softly gasped. The aforesaid girl raised her face with hope, waiting for her mother to defend her. But her mother didn't, instead choosing to regale her with a sad, yet slightly exasperated look.

"Hinata, I'm waiting" Her father tells her, getting the attention back to himself.

With burning cheeks and feeling abandoned, Hinata tried to make some excuse "I'm so, so sorry, I didn't meant to. Father, Mother, Honorable Elders, I..." Yet her sobs prevented her from continuing to speak.

"Your manners are terribly unbecoming of an Hyuuga heiress. And aren't you supposed to be the future of our clan"

A part of Hinata's mind wanted to defend herself and say that she was incredibly stealthy. Aren't ninjas supposed to know how to sneak in and hide away? Spying is incredibly rude, it's true, but the fact that she managed to spy a closed meeting, if only for a while... wasn't the sign of a good ninja? Being incredible stealthy?

But when she turned her face and looked at the knowing, mocking faces of her Clan members, she realized that she really hadn't deceived anyone. And she felt naive for thinking so. Each and every one of them noticed her presence right away, and they let her hear around for a while to test her, to see if she left like any educated and decorous daughter of the Hyuuga Clan would, or if she stayed to snoop around. That's why they called her just when the conversation was going to turn to more tricky topics, as her father called them. But nevermind the snooping, if only she'd known how to disguise her presence, right now she would be being praised instead of having to endure a shameful scolding in front of her whole Clan.

And her father went on and on... unmoved at the sight of her glistening tears and trembling lips.

* * *

Hinata didn't see her father for the rest of that day. After her father gave her the scolding of her life and disdainfully dismissed her, she locked herself up into her room and stayed there all day. Nobody knocked her door and the maids took charge of sending her her meals.

But the day after that, the girl came out hesitantly. Thankfully, she didn't see many people around the Hyuuga complex but a few souls. A little more confident, she went to the dining room, where she found her mother still sitting on the table, even though breakfast had already passed and wasn't lunch time yet. However, a tall cup of milk with a few cinnamon rolls were in Hinata's side of the table. It was as if her mother had been waiting for her.

Hinata sat down and started eating. Although Hinata still felt hurt that her mother hadn't defended her, that didn't prevent mother and daughter from chatting of trifles.

When Hinata finished, she looked expectantly at her mother, waiting for her permission to leave. But instead of it, her mother pushed the dishes aside on the table. with a serene look.

"Hinata, I have something to ask you. But don't worry, it's nothing bad"

"What it is?" 

"Hinata, when you were hearing the...meeting, what exactly did you hear?

Hinata didn't want to answer, but she knew she had to do it. "I-I heard you talking about a new heiress. That you are a potential h-eiress" 

The woman was surprised by her daughter's response "Me, the heiress? That's so absurd. What would I be the heiress? No, what your father was referring to is to, well, my pregnancy" she said signaling her stomach.

Hinata looked up "Pregnancy?" She didn't know the meaning of that word.

"You are a little young to know that word, but being pregnant means I'm waiting for a child. In a few months, you're going to be a big sister! Isn't great?" the woman asked excitedly.

"A big-?" the small girl asked gaping.

Her mother laughed a bit, amused at Hinata's flabbergasted expression "As you heard, in a few months you're going to have a little sister" she confirmed patting her inflated middle.

Oh. Oh. Now she got it. She had heard some of the women in the clan say that babies lived inside their mothers for a while, but she did not know exactly how that worked. Her mom wasn't getting fat, she just had a child inside of her somehow. But how one can they distinguish a _pregnant_ woman from a fat one?

"Come Hinata-chan, come and feel your baby sister" Hinata put her hands over her mother's rumen, in awe. The older woman gently placed her head on it as well.

His mother's belly was harder than she expected. And although it was almost imperceptible, he could feel something moving languidly inside it. Something that was her sister. Hinata giggled at the thought.

"I imagine Father was quite happy when you told him about this" Hinata said in joy, without thinking in her words.

"Uh, yes, yes...your father was very, very happy about this. Trust me" 

Hinata didn't notice how her mother seemed to be reassuring herself, but she **did** notice how her happy attitude dimmed, even if she didn't undestood why was that.

* * *

It had been a slow day at the Hokage office. That gave Hiruzen time to review the correspondence on his desk, most of it from the Land of Snow and Hachō Village, and more recently, from Kumogakure.

Apparently they were interested in trying to reestablish a cordial relationship with Konoha, supposedly in an effort to atone for their guilt after the disastrous kidnapping attempt towards the Hyuuga heiress two years ago. They had already sent multiple missives, and although Kiruzen had read them, he'd decided to postpone the answer, as it wasn't a decision that could be taken lightly.

Kumo had humiliated Konoha, and almost no one had liked that the Hokage had so readily agreed to the demands of Kumogakure, perceiving it as a sign of weakness. But Hiruzen wasn't stupid, if he had give in such a degrading way during the incident with the Hyuugas, it was because rumors about the great shinobi power of Kumogakure had already reached his ears, although the details about it were uncertain. They were lucky that a man from the Branch house was all they had to sacrifice.

After some serious thinking, he wrote a reply accepting their request. After all, for the moment it was just that,-a request-, they weren't contracts or treaties. But more importantly, having a closer tie to that village would probably give them the chance to find out exactly how much of threat Kumo truly was, which were its possible weak points, and what was behind its might... Danzo's ROOT would made sure of it...

Danzo... Remembering his old friend brought to the forefront of his mind Akako Kamiya's worried face. With an emotion not typical of an ANBU,-former or otherwise-, the woman had expressed how troubled she was at the idea that some of the orphans at her charge could be taken away. Despite trying, Hiruzen can only empathize on it in a superficial way. Fortunately, he managed to calm down the agitated headmistress, ensuring her that he would take care of everything. It's not like he'd lied...not entirely.

Big confrontations weren't necessary with Danzo. Let him know that you knew what he was up to was enough to penetrate his defenses. Like when he made it clear that he knew who was behind the assassination attempt against him...And Danzo may not have shown it externally, but he knows his little jab in the latest Council meeting let him thinking, and he will be more careful henceforth. A couple of hints and digs more, and Danzo will move on onto something else, as it's unlikely he would try to get closer to the orphanage ever again.

For a moment he thought Danzo may have wanted to get his hands on Naruto, but he dismissed such notion. He didn't have to worry about that. As soon as Naruto had been born, he had told Danzo to stay away from the girl, and Danzo knew better than to defy such a direct order. 

* * *

The white little house she was currently in denoted poverty, but it was comfy and had a welcoming air on it. Outside there were yards filled with leafy trees and bushy shrubbery, so different from the neatly cut lawns in the Hyuuga complex. Even a vegetable garden was there at the back! Weren't orphanages seedy, dreadful places where children suffered greatly? But this place didn't seem to be like that, at all.

"Well, here ends our little tour Hyuuga-sama"

"Oh, yes, of course. You've been quite helpful Shinji-san"

"It's my pleasure, you don't have thank me. Hopefully our humble abode is up to your liking, Hyuuga-sama"

"Suck up" a girlish voice spoke behind them. Hinata became stiff and Seiko,-who had been accompanying her-, frowned. But Shinji-san didn't seem to hear.

"Umm, it's very pretty. Thank you" 

The young man gave her one last respectful look before walking away, ignoring a Naruto who had kicking the dirt under her feet with impatience.

"I thought he would never leave 'ttebayo!"

"He wa-s being nice Naruto-san, wanting to show me the place. And you shouldd-n't have called him a suck up"

"He deserved it. And I could done that too" Naruto said moodily.

"But he works h-ere, so he had to show m-e around" Hinata pointed shyly.

"Hinata-sama, you sure you're going to be okay leaving you alone with...her?"

"Oi, what means that? It's not like I'm gonna hurt Hina!"

Hinata nodded and told Seiko she was going to be fine, and the man left. Hinata knew he wasn't gone, he couldn't and wouldn't do that, but he promised her to give her a little "privacy" during their playdate.

They had been climbing trees and playing hide and seek, a pretty pointless game to play for a Hyuuga. But Naruto didn't know that so Hinata pretended to not know where Naruto was hiding. She wasn't used to use her Dojutsu, but she promised herself that once she dominated it, she was going to show it to Naruto.

After that, they also started to jump the rop, but with a twist, instead of jumping in a single place, they were moving and doing races. But Hinata had gotten so dizzy that Naruto had to sit her down under the enviable shade of a big cherry tree. Naruto also did bring her a tall glass of water.

"Here you go Hina-chan" Naruto said and Hinata wasted no time into drinking it.

"Thanks Naruto-san" The girl gave an embarrased smile to her orphaned friend, who looked completely fine. Even though Hinata had already started her shinobi training, her stamina seemed to be laughable compared to Naruto's. What would Father say?

"What do you want to do now?"

Hinata thought about it "Well, we could keep pressing flowers"

Naruto pouted. She liked pressing flowers, but it was a beautiful day, too beautiful to waste it doing something that required sitting still and bored. But Hinata didn't look that good yet, so pressing flower it was. Fortunately, there were many types of wild flowers in the courtyard. 

Hinata knew that that wasn't what Naruto wanted to do, but Naruto didn't complain and rather rushed to find the materials they needed. She'd only known her for a short time, but if there was one thing Naruto never failed, it was in making Hinata laugh...

...As on now, with Naruto doing an utter mess with the glue they were using to glue the flowers to the paper. It was like she had never used glue before...

"ACK, IT'S ON MY MOUTH!!!!"

Yeah, Naruto could be quite amusing indeed. Hinata failed to repress the giggles bubbling into her at the sight of a Naruto trying to wipe the glue in her mouth with a leaf.

But her laughs didn't last long, upon seeing her Seiko-san walk towards her, with gloomy eyes and a downturned mouth. That he was already in front of them meant one thing: that it was moment to go home.

"Is it time?" Hinata asked sadly.

Naruto frowned "Time? For what?" 

Hinata turned to Naruto apologetically, thumbs twisting against each other "To leave. M-y parents don't want me to be out at n-i-ght"

"But it is-" Naruto looked at the cheap pink wrist watch she carried, struggling a little to read the hour, as she had only recently learned to do so "-2 o'clock. It's still early"

Hinata brightened a little "Oh, Seiko-san, look, it's still early"

The man was quiet.

"Oi, teme, Hinata is talking to you-"

"Naruto-san, plea-s-e don't cal-l Seiko-san that"

But to her surprise, the man didn't say a thing about the name-calling. He just addressed her again with the same gravity.

"Hinata-sama, we've to leave."

Hinata looked taken aback. Why Seiko-san was looking so...sorrowful?

"Seiko-san...what's th-the matt-er?" Hinata asked, with her heart pounding wildly against her little ribcage. The man looked like he didn't want to respond, but did it anyways.

"It's about Himari-sama"

Hinata was left completely speechless. She no longer could utter words to express what she felt. But she _did_ know what she_ felt,_ and she _felt_ was plain and raw _Fear._

_"What happened to Mom?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> There is so little about Naruto in this chapter. I'm writing a story about a Fem!Naruto yet I end up writing more about, well, everyone's POV than hers. This story isn't totally Naruto-centric, but still. 
> 
> I know the whole Hyuuga incident made Hiruzen look like a pushover, but let's face it, at the time Konoha didn't stand a chance. Kumo would have shitted on their faces.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ausences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost satisfied with this chapter. Almost.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes!

Himari Hyuuga was popular within her Clan because her humble origins, as allegedly she had originally been part of the Branch Family. The Hyuuga Clan sealed its Branch members at age 3, but an exception was made in Himari's case due to her sickly nature, as the Caged Bird Seal could take a substantial toll in one's body and existed real fear she wouldn't be able to resist it. At 12 she was healthier and could finally be marked, but again luck saved her from it, as the then-Heir of the Hyuuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuuga, had asked his parents not to seal her, as he desired her as his bride to-be. Naturally such statement was met with incredulity and even derision. But the heir remained firm in his decision, until his parents and the Main House had no choice but to grudgingly agreed to it. That was the story of how Himari had become in the Matriach of the Hyuuga Clan, the wife of its leader and eventually, and the mother of the future heirs as well.

But that was only the official story. In reality very few believed it. It seemed too convenient, too happy ending, too fairy-tale like. A lowly Branch girl not getting sealed because she was too sick? As if the Hyuuga Main House would ever be so merciful. Exactly the type of sickly-sweet story the Main House would love to use to further their control over the Branch House, and make themselves look more magnanimous in the process. And the sickly-sweet story the Branch House would love to use to console themselves, the story they would tell their children at night, to soothe them when their bodies ached from the pain produced by those infernal Seals. But that was okay, because if only they tried enough and wished for it with all their hearts, they could get as lucky as Himari-sama and get a charming prince to save them!

However, regardless of if it was true or not, her death was the news of the moment in Konoha, and had supposed a big blow for the morale of the Hyuuga Clan.

* * *

Neji was fighting with the conflicting feelings that the scene he was looking at produced into him.

Her cousin Hinata was humming a soft tune to the Main House's newest member, Hanabi Hyuuga. The baby was out of her reach though, locked inside a strange case with a water heater attached to it. The midwives had called the baby a "premature" and she was far thinner and smaller than the newborns Neji had seen before, so he could guess she was frail. Weak. Even so, she seemed comfortable in the inside of her glass box.

Her cousin's soft voice, though not quite noticeable through her humming, reminded him of her mother's, and that made him think of the events that had taken place weeks ago, events that had taken them up to that point.

> _"Mom! Mom! Mommy!" the yells were loud and hysterical. Neji turned to see Hinata, who'd been the person yelling, and scowled at the girl's non-existent composture._
> 
> _The Main House had called all Branch Houses members to report to an emergency meeting; without even telling them what was going on. That was already bad enough as to have to stand Hinata's hysterics as well. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one who found the heiress' lack of decorum preposterous. One of the Clan Elders turned to the girl and shushed her with a finger, a whisper and a quick glare._
> 
> _Hinata got quiet, although strangely she didn't seem to hear the Elder. She looked pathetic, with her eyes puffy because of tears. Behind her was Seizo-san, who was breathing a little heavier than usual._
> 
> _"Where is my mommy?" Mommy. Dear Sage, she still called her mother "mommy". Neji did a disgusted grimace._
> 
> _A man of the Branch House, one Neji had never seen before, gently lead the young girl to a darkened room. Neji couldn't help the curiosity and discretely turned to see what was going on inside._
> 
> _To his surprise he found his aunt was confined to some strange four-legged-bed; and even at the distance and without having his Byakugan activated, he could see how pale she was, how pronounced the dark circles below her eyes were. It impacted him quite deeply. He was so surprised that he barely noticed when Hinata took seat in a tabouret next to her aunt's bed. The older woman delicately and amorously took the girl's hands on hers and t hey started murmuring something too low for him to hear._
> 
> _After snapping himself out his stupor, he got embarrassed of being intruding in such a intimate mother-daughter moment, even if they didn't know that. So he turned away sharply, deciding to leave the stifling enviroment of the Main House's mansion. Maybe it wasn't wise for him to leave without permission, but the meeting for which they had been called had not yet begun , so he figured he could sneak around for a while and do a bit of training._
> 
> _It was when he had been outside for more than an hour, dutifully doing his katas in a secluded corner, when he heard Hinata's high-pitched, heartbreaking scream. _

His aunt was dead. Neji didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't trust anyone from the Main House, but his aunt had always been nice to him, even if he was never sure if that kindness was sincere or not. She even allowed him to sit at the same table as her and the Main Family, despite the fact Hiashi didn't seem content about it. He wouldn't ever said he loved her, but his aunt had been one of the few to make him feel welcomed....and he was going to miss her. He closed his eyes and remembered how she'd been buried...

> _The funeral had been a rather closed-up event. Aside of the Hyuugas themselves, only the Hokage, the Council and the Heads of the other Clans were allowed to attend. And only for a short while, as after followed the burying of the casket and the cremation._
> 
> _During the whole affair, Hiashi Hyuga looked apathetic and harsh, he didn't show any emotion, not even upon seeing his wife's face in the coffin. And although such composure was something expected of all Ninja and especially of a Clan leader, more than one looked reproachfully at such an attitude. Specially since how he seemed to deny any comfort to his daughter, the fallen's first born. Their hearts went to the young girl, who was fighting a fruitless battle against her own tears and ended up hiding her face in one of the countless servant's dark robes._
> 
> _Eventually, the girl pulled back a bit and tried to wipe away the effects of her constant crying. Her eyes were not longer wet; yet a deep sadness could be saw through them. _

However, there was a bright spot among all it, one that had gone nearly unnoticed given the tragedy surrounding it: her aunt had died giving birth, and the child had survived. There was a new baby, a new heir. A life gained, a life lost.

Nowadays her cousin's eyes were still sad, -as she was still grieving over her mother-, but when they looked at her baby sister a soft glow made them shine... And he didn't like it, he found himself wishing to see total unhappiness on her cousin's eyes once again. It was a really bad thing to wish and he knew it, but he couldn't help himself, the somewhat fond feelings he had for his aunt didn't extend to her daughter. And the former's death didn't change that, if anything the envy within him only got stronger. Because Hinata had had the change to say goodbye that he didn't...

"What are you doing here?"

Hiashi Hyuuga's unexpected arrival and instant question made Neji flinch a little. He looked up and he promptly responded with a short "I'm fine Uncle"

The Hyuuga leader turned to look at him with a curious frown, and then Neji realized with a blush that his uncle wasn't talking to him. He fidgeted a bit, before regaining his posture and turning his face to the other side, hoping his uncle wouldn't see his red face.

"Again, what are you doing here Hinata?"

He may be not talking to him, but Neji's cheeks quickly lost the blood reddening them at how authoritarian his uncle sounded. His voice had turned harsher too, and from the corner of his eyes he could see Hinata trembling in fear.

"I wanted to see Sister, Father. I-"

The older Hyuuga male interrupted her "Haven't you trained this morning?" 

"No-o, but I was just going to"

"Well, go and don't return until you've mastered the Gentle Fist Basic stance. Your sister isn't going anywhere"

The girl flew out the room so fast that she almost tripped in her own feet. Leaving Neji behind in an awkward silence with his uncle, that he tried to fill telling his uncle about his training, although he really didn't want to talk to the man. The older Hyuuga gave his small but sincere smile at his retellings, which only served to confuse him. The man also looked at his daughter resting in her crystal room, and did a gesture as if to wanting to get close, but quickly snapped out of it, with a sorrowful look an his face.

* * *

The small candy bars were half melted from the heat, and deformed from being kneaded by a child's sticky hands. But they were still wrapped up and they didnt seem to be bitten, that was a plus.

Looking at the earnest sky-blue eyes of the child in front of her, Kamiya lets out a bemused chuckle. She'd gotten complaints from both Shinji and Kaito about Naruto's increasingly disrespectful demeanor. She felt mildly guilty about it, as she suspected that the hard times the other children gave to Naruto because of her whiskers, along with some of her own actions... were what caused some of that behavior, because before Naruto had been loud but not bratty, not more than any kid her age at least. But now here she was, being all nice, bringing her gifts even. Why? 

"These for you, Kamiya-san"

Yeah, even the rowdier children in the orphanage knew better than to call her without a respectful honorific.

"These are for you, that's the right way to said it. But thank you" the older woman said before picking one of the near-runny candy bars from the girl's hands and throwing it to her mouth.

"'Kay" Naruto agreed with a toothy smile. The little girl was still a bit hurt for what Kamiya did...but she ignored the small peak of sadness and replaced it with mirth. 

"Uh, Kamiya-san, I need a favor" Naruto said hesitantly, with her hand insistently scratching one of her whiskered cheeks.

Ah, so that it was that. Giving "gifts" in exchange of "favors".

"What kind of favor?"

"I need permission to go to see Hina-chan!" the little girl exclaimed loudly, earlier hesitation completely forgotten.

Kamiya hadn't actually witnessed it, but she had heard about Naruto's unexpected friendship with the Hyuuga Heiress,-of all people-, and had in fact permit the latter to come to the orphanage to visit the former. A very good thing considering that atlthough Naruto was quite friendly and was amicable with most of her peers and playmates, for multiple reasons she had failed to truly get into the clique of friends within the institution. But even so...

"I don't think that would be possible"

"Why not?" the little girl outcried, angrily and petulantly hopping on the spot.

"Most of the staff here is swamped with work and I don't think they have time to accompany you."

"I can go alone! I'm four! I'm a big girl!"

"No you're not. Besides, haven't you go to the market in Saturdays? Haven't you meet her there?"

Naruto pouted "Nope. Hina-chan hasn't been in the market"

Kamiya, as anyone else in Konoha, had heard about the death of Himari Hyuuga, so she can imagine how the other girl definitely isn't in mood to go shopping. Not that she's going to tell Naruto that.

"I still can't let you go. The only way to see her is that Hinata herself comes here"

"Dunno she would come. Last time I saw her seemed like something bad had happened to her mum" The girl suddenly perked up " But hey! You can take to her right?"

The headmistress sighed "When I said the staff was busy, I was including myself too. I don't even know where she lives"

Lie. Of course she doesn't know here Hinata lives. Everyone knows where the Hyuuga Complex is, being as big and luxurious as it is and covering most of the northern part of Konoha. She might've let Hinata Hyuuga to come to visit their home, but she doubts the Hyuugas would return the courtesy. They are quite exclusive in who they let in.

Ye, she decides to try to help "But I can leave her a message from you"

She may be a little too busy to accompany her, but Kamiya was sure she could take some time off to localize some Hyuuga the next time she's downtown doing errands.

Naruto was elated at her answer "Aw'some! Thanks a lot!"

"Yeah, calm down. Here" she said handling Naruto a thick pencil and a blank page.

The girl started to furiously write and draw, but once she was done, she cried in despair, because how could she send such a simplone, colorless letter to Hina-chan? She needed her crayons! She made a mad dash in search of them, but not before making Kamiya swear she wasn't going to steal her letter.

Minutes passed and Kamiya was sure that Naruto, hiperactive as she was, had most likely gotten distracted in her way back. Bah, she'd come back. Eventually. But the slight amusement that Kamiya felt evaporated when she felt a foreign presence slowly creeping behind her. Unwilling to take any chances after what had happened merely a few months behind, she blindly turned around and managed to grab the intruder's body and subdue him in a back choke hold. She noticed the intruder's was male, although shorter than her, so she made sure to roughly separate his legs and place one of hers between his splayed ones, in a position that would allow her to kick the groin if necessary.

"Yi-eld!Yilld!" the intruder pleaded with a thin voice caused by the lack of air.

Kamiya blinked and jumped off of the unknown person who wasn't really unknown at all. The young man took big mouthfuls of air, propping his lagging body with the wall.

"Why did you try to sneak on me? I could've killed you!"

The not-so intruder gave her a shaky grin "I wanted to practice my stealth"

Kamiya gave him a hard look, but didn't say more. The boy had always been a bit of a prankster, even if that side of his had mostly vanished after he had become a ninja. Hopefully incidents like this would teach him there's a place and time for that kind of things.

"Not that I don't want to see you, but what are you doing here? And what's going with your face? Don't tell that now you want to piss off Kotetsu by copying his look" she mentioned while scrutinizing the teenager's face and the chump of gauze horizontally placed over the bridge of his nose.

"I just came back from my mission" he stated proudly "And this..." he gently rubbed the gauze "Well, one of those thugs we encountered did this to me. They got the drop on me and taunted me saying I would look better with my scar re-opened, and well, this happened"

"Then why didn't you go to see a Medic-nin?"

The teen laughed sheepishly "I did, but the cut was deeper than expected. The medic treated the worst part but I still have to wear this for a few days"

Kamiya had thought the wound was only a superficial flesh cut, but if a medic nin had already treated it and he still had to wear bandages... She frowned deeply, realizing that intention of the attack was not to re-open the boy's scar but to _cut his head in half._

"Then you shouldn't be here. You should be resting" She mentioned in worry.

"I feel fine, really. And I wanted to give you this" 

The boy extended a brown envelope to her. She took it and opened it, discovering multiple and colorful bills of high denominations in it.

She tore her gaze away and looked back at the boy now sporting an impish grin on his tanned face. She sighed exasperatedly "This is the payment for your mission, isn't it?"

"Yep. A B mission payment" he confirmed, pronouncing the letter "B" with gusto.

"You know I can't accept it"

"Oh come one! You know you can. It's not like I'm going to miss the money from a single mission anyways, I have savings. And I bet if you ask all the orphans who've lived here, they would be delighted to help"

Kamiya bit her lower lip. It isn't as if she hadn't thought about that option before, it's just that she doesn't feel comfortable with the idea of asking for money to those who have previously lived in the orphanage. But deep down she knows she's just saying that because she is prideful. After all, there's not difference between taking money from the orphanage's past residents and taking money from other third parties. In fact, asking to the former group for help could be far more fruitful, as it's likely they would felt an actual moral obligation to help.

"I don't know if I'm willing to do that. But thanks Iruka. For the idea. And for this" she said while stuffing the money in the back pocket.

* * *

"Hinata-sama, there's this for you"

Hinata was staring with great surprise at the letter that Seiko-san's had on his hand. For all she's the Clan's heiress, she knows she's only a 5-years-old, so would send a letter to her? But Seiko seems kind of happy, so Hinata hurries to get the letter, and she giggled a lot when she saw the its contents: a page full of funny-looking Narutos back and right. The drawings were bad and had obviously been made by Naruto herself, but in spite of its goofiness all the Narutos had grave expressions on their faces, from serious to crying to pensative.

At the feet of the page, written in mayuscule, was the phrase: **THIS IS ME WHEN I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU!**

Hinata's eyes got moist. She hadn't thought much into anything that wasn't her mother and her sister for a long time, but after seeing this she realized she had deeply missed the other girl, the only friend she had.

The young girl's tears stained the letter. She had slowly getting over the ausence of her mother, but after the funeral, most people were acting as nothing had happened, even her own father had adopted that same attitude. Some Branch members had been reminiscing the late Hyuuga matriach with fondness, but they were quickly shushed down. It wa like they thought that keep pretending her mother hadn't existed was going to made them get over her faster. To make matters worse, Neji had become even more reclusive that he already was, as her mother's death had hit him harder than anyone would have predicted that it would.

And Hinata needed someone to talk to.

* * *

The constant splash of the rain was making the tiles of the rooftop scream, but Naruto wasn't paying any mind to it. She was more worried about her aching fingers, produced by from over-eating the nails, due to how worried she was. She wanted to see Hinata right now! Kamiya had scolded her, assuring her that Hinata was going to come, but that she was most likely passing for a bad moment and that the last thing she needed was to stand a selfish, thoughtless friend. She really didn't understand much of that except that she had to be patient and not give Hinata a hard time for not visiting her earlier.

A soft serie of knocks made her whip up her head, and she quickly got off the bed and ran to the door, without even putting on her flip-flops.

"HINATA!" she yelled at seeing the other girl, who was dripping water from head to toes, her bangs plastered in her face and tiny purple umbrella loosely held in her right hand. Behind Hinata was the always-faithful Seiko, who was rubbing his ear in annoyance at the girl's loud volume. Didn't she know how to talk normally?

"Naruto-san" Hinata saluted with a slight pink blush in her cheeks.

Naruto couldn't contain herself and inmediately started to chat the other girl's poor ear off. But then she remembered Kamiya's words, and she forced herself to stop making the chat all about herself and concentrate in the ohter girl. And man, did Hinata look...bad. She was still cute and all, but she noticed how the blush in her face wasn't due to embarrassment but because of how wet she was. She touched her shoulder and could felt how heavy Hinata's jacket was, alongside with the rest of her clothes most likely. And so she asked if she was okay. And what had happened to her mum. Hinata's eyes lowered in sadness.

"Naruto-sa-" the girl sniffed, but didn't say more. A couple of thick tears spilled down her cheeks, and those were followed by others. it was hard to distinguish the tears from the water drops, but those reddened eyes of hers did not lie. So Naruto did what she thought was right, and hugged her.

It was strange to Naruto, to be doing this. She and the other children yelled, cried, put their arms across each other's arms to either fight or express their joy. But Naruto herself had never hugged, or been hugged by a child her own age. It wasn't something they did, or at least not in the orphanage. However, she had always saw how the adults did this between themselves or to the kids. Naruto had gotten hugged before but by adults, some of the caretakers in the orphanage, and it was undeniably something that she loved. Kamiya-rōba even promoted it, saying that hugs not only comforted people but also it made them smarter. She didn't think hugs could help her to learn _Katakana _faster or use the abacus better, but why would they lie about that? And if it was something all adults did and encouraged, then maybe it was true.

Now she just had to let Hinata cry, and listen to her for when she'd ready to talk.

* * *

The man cursed. That was a close one.

It is a good thing he was so adept in hiding his chakra, to the point he does inconciously most of the time. His hiding place was good but it would be worthless if the Hyuuga man activated his Byakugan.

He rolled his eyes at the sight of the two girls hugging each other as if the world had ended or something. He had spied in the most dangerous of shinobis, the ones who tip the highest in the bingo books, and now he'd reduced himself to spy in a couple of little girls. But he wouldn't complain, it was for something bigger than himself.

Much bigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos or/and comments!
> 
> I introduced Iruka! Yay for me!
> 
> I wanted to post Naruto's message to Hinata, but although I'm not the best drawing, I'm not the worst either, so every time I "forced"myself to draw badly, the way youngs kids do, my drawings ended up looking as if I was trying too hard, or at least that was the impression I got...
> 
> Is it just me, or anyone else has noticed how very young children (5 to below) don't tend to hug each other, not matter how friendly they are? That's based solely in what I've seen, so probably is an erroneous observation. However, the bit about how hugging infants makes them smarter is true though. In some European orphanages, infants are rarely handled or touched. which delays their cognitive and motor skills development. According to studies, if these institutionalized infants receive additional minutes of tactile stimulation per day for 10 weeks, they would scored higher in developmental assessments. Here is the complete articule: https://www.parentingforbrain.com/children-hugging/ 
> 
> And I know we didn't get much of Hinata in this chapter, considering how her mother had just died, but I'm going to delve deeper on that, I promise.
> 
> Wash you hands, drink lots of water and stay at home if your country is in quarantine!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations for a Party (i.e Fundraiser)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One would think that someone reclused in home because of this damn quarantine would update faster...*Sigh* 
> 
> And my other fics are not abandoned but they may be as well be with the utter lack of updates from my part... *More dramatic sigh*
> 
> Boring as hell chapter. Sorry! Not very Naruto or Hinata-centric *drops head feeling very defeated*
> 
> English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any mistakes! And I didn't proof-read this chapter, because I was in a hurry to update; so the whole chapter is probably a mess full of misspellings and grammatical errors.
> 
> Oh, and make sure to read the end notes!

"This is Hanabi" Hinata announced with soft but notable cheeriness; placing some photos of her baby sister in Naruto's eager hands.

"Her head is so big! And what's that thing she is inside to?" Naruto asked wrinkling her nose.

"Um, yeah, it is... And she is inside an incubator" Hinata told her, battling to get the pronunciation of the last word right.

"But what's that?" Naruto asked baffled.

"Ahh, I-I think it's a machine to make babies breath better"

"Ohh" 

The young girls were on the top bed of a couchette in the room of the orphanage where Naruto sleeps; room that wasn't small but it was cramped nonetheless thanks to having the belongings of _ten_ children, even as scarse as those were. For the moment it was their "headquarters".

The reason for it was that Hinata had still to tell her father about Naruto. And by once, it wasn't due to her own timidity but because she hadn't seen her father in days. She liked to stare at her sister and spend time with her that wasn't enough to dissipate all the sadness in her. And the rest of the clan pretty much ignored her. Disheartened, she took to go to the orphanage one or two times a week to visit the blonde.

So when Naruto had told her she wanted to meet her sister, Hinata knew she couldn't take her to the Hyuuga Compound, so she promised her photos. Since she didn't have a camera nor knew how to use one, she had asked Akira,-a older kid from her Clan who in his free time always carried a camera with him-, to take some photos of Hanabi. The extremely bold boy asked her if she had any any idea of how dangerous was to take pictures of one of the Clan heir with said heir being so young and so fragile as she was. But before Hinata could backpedal in her request, the older boy begrungingly accepted, all while bemoaning how creepy was to take pictures of a newborn.

And Naruto was right of how big Hanabi's head was. She had been worried about it too but everyone had assured her that it was normal, normal for babies who had been born before time like her, they said.

A couple of knocks interrupt them "Hinata-sama, Naruto-chan, can I come in?"

Naruto blinked, confused. Why was he knocking and asking permission to enter? She and the other girls never did that! Oh well.

"Hinata-sama, it's lunch time, we have to leave" Seiko's firm voice stated. He was one of the few people in the Hyuuga Clan who didn't ignore Hinata, but he was a Branch member and she the heiress, some proper distance was necessary. And while Seiko wasn't Naruto's biggest fan, even he could see how the whiskered girl's company could lift young Hinata-sama' spirits.

"Ahh, come on, why you don't stay and eat here?"

Hinata looks hopefully at Seiko, but the man shook his head. Not only not being present at meal times isn't something well-regarded in the Hyuuga Clan, but it doesn't take a genius either as to know that the orphanage wasn't swimming in money...

"I suppose we can stay a bit longer but only to grab a bite Hinata-sama, I don't want to spoil your appetite"

Hinata was happy to stay a bit longer but Naruto was happier even. Because it was Wednesday and Wednesdays were _Yakisoba Buns_ Days.

* * *

"You really think they're going to give you any money?" A male voice expressed with marked irony. It belonged to a man named Nobu. Tall, blonde, with a ruggedly handsome face, a stubble beard and a sturdy body. He had his arms crossed, showcasing the bulky muscles in it.

Kamiya tried to not react to the petty jab "Ideally they should" she replied midly, busying her hands with the letters and envelopes on her desk.

Iruka was right. They needed to ask money. But instead of just going around begging for money with a can and the chidren trailing behind her to inspire pity (she shuddered at the thought), she decided to organize a small fundraiser in their home. It was fancier that way and it sure made Kamiya feel a lot better about herself.

And Nobu was here because he was Kamiya's former Genin teammate, so he wanted to help. The man was basically her oldest friend. Unfortunately, that means he knows how to press her buttons. Even with her mild reply, she can see in his eyes she hasn't fooled him, he _knows _she's pissed.

"I think we have been doing a good job here" she finally snapped, giving up trying to keep her cool in front of him. She wasn't as good in ignoring his insults as she thought.

Nobu snorted "Yes, **YOU** are doing a _killer_ job so far in this place. You and the others. But you're gonna ask money to people who lived here way before you took charge. And this place was crap back then" he expressed almost contemptuously.

"How can possibly know that?" she asked testily. She was tired due to working in the preparations of the fundraiser and the last thing she wanted was to let Nobu's words get into her head, making her think the fundraiser was going to be a failure.

"Know what?"

"That this place was "crap" before, It's not like you ever lived here"

Nobu looked uncomfortable for a moment, but finally he blurted "Hiroji always used to said that."

"Oh."

Hiroji. The third member of your team. A gifted ninja but an indolent flirt, the complete opposite of Kamiya,-the talentless yet hardworking achiever-, and thus they had never really been close, something she lamented incessantly.

They lost him, not in a bloody fight, but in a night of camping during a mission, at the edges of the Land of Fire. They went to sleep...and when they woke up, he was not longer there. They looked for him everywhere, _everywhere, _but they never found anything. Not even a lead. It was like he had vanished into thin air.

Both Kamiya and Nobu took it really bad, specially Nobu, since he had formed a close friendship with the other boy even with all their differences. Everything would have been so much easier if he had died, because the lack of closure somehow made it worse; to the point even mentioning him was a touchy subject between them even after all these years.

As of now.

Kamiya cleared her throat, hoping to dissipate the awkwardness between them and failing "Even so, this is still the place where they lived. They most likely have at least some feelings for it"

Nobu nodded slowly. It was obvious his mind wasn't longer in the issue of the fundraiser. The conversation pretty much diluted after that.

* * *

Next morning, while it was still early and she was still enjoying her coffee, Kamiya summoned a quartet of white doves. Doves were far of being the most intimidating summon around, but they were quick as lightning and great for carrying information around. She loved how regal they looked as well.

"Kiko, Gogo, Suki and Fumi" she called the birds. They hopped a little on their own axis, excited at being called by their names and summoned after so long. Kamiya smiled and fondly patted their heads. "Guys I need you to deliver these invitations. These are the names of the recipients" he said showing them the letters with the names written on the envelopes before placing them on their backs.

The doves promptly flew away, ready to distribute the invitations around town.

* * *

The light tapping sounds broke Iruka's concentration. He turned his head and saw a pretty dove repeatedly driving its tiny beak to the glass of the window's classroom. He smiled at it. He could recognize of whom summon was that. Seemed like Kamiya-san had taken his advice.

"Hello pretty" he opened the window, picked up the bird and put it on the desk he had been sitting on. The bird didn't waste time in happily feast in the breads crumbs of the sandwich he ate earlier.

He grabbed one of the letters in the bird's back, the one with his name. He admired the carefully-crafted envelope made of construction paper and put it inside his pocket, deciding to read it later.

Not becase he considered it unimportant, of course not. It's just that he had to conclude his mission reports as fast as possible, if he wanted to have any hope of becoming in teacher of the Academy the following year...

* * *

Her tongue was slowly sweeping across her well-defined lips, savoring the last remnants of the sweet _Hanami dango_. She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her coat and kept reading.

> _"Our kindest regards to your person Mitarashi-san, we are extending you an invitation to the fundraiser held next week in Konoha Orphanage at..."_

Blah, blah, blah. She wanted to snort and destroy the shitty cutesy letter. She had 0 good memories about that crappy place. But hey, she had some money to give to those kids, its not like she was completely heartless you know? Besides most of her former acquaintances there had become shinobi as hell so maybe she could a nice bloody spar out of this deal.

* * *

The silver-haired man in the dog mask eyed the invitation in his hand with a blank look. He could only vaguely remember of the place where he had stayed for a year or so after his father... he shook his head with disdain, and didn't waste time in viciously crumple the letter and throw it into the nearest river, where it slowly began its disintegration. The bird looked at him with disappointment, so he stuffed money in its money so the thing would leave it alone. The bird still looked disappointed, but this time it seemed to finally take the hint.

The man sighed tiredly. He needed a mission. _Inmediately._

* * *

The letter laid placidly in the table, completely forgotten, in spite of how out of place it looked, in a room stained of feces, urine and blood, and the doll-like faces of babies hanging from the walls...

* * *

_A week later_

After Kamiya had announced the upcoming gathering about to take place in their place, the children had gotten relentless with excitement. Not even the fact they were going to help organize it dampened their spirits. 

So now Naruto was busy mooping the floor shiny clean with a bucket of water at her side. it wasn't a bad chore although it wasn't as nice as working in the garden was. She disliked it because she kept slipping on the wet floor even with her rubber flats. But she was almost done and besides she was cleaning the room next to the kitchen, so she had first seat to the wonderful smells coming from it. 

Once she was done, she didn't even bother putting the moop and the bucker in its place, she just leave it around and dashed to her room. When she came, a lot of the other girls were already there.

Which could only meant one thing: Bath time! She grimaced at it, she hated bathing, it was horrible and the worst part of her day!

The lady in charge of their bath entered and she seemed annoyed that,-as always-, the girls did not take off their clothes until she arrived, unknowingly wasting time. Although she could understand that they were unwilling to lose the heat their clothes provided.

This time was a little different though. Instead of just making them scrub themselves and throwing them a couple of buckets of cold water and call it a day, she took the time to delicately smear their bodies with oil, removing it with a strigil and _then _throwing them the buckets of water. Everyone wanted the children to look their best for the frundraiser. Once they were finally washed, they quickly dressed in their best clothes and left for the ball room

As it was still early, the room was empty, no one had come yet. So Kamiya gathered them all together and lined them up. She looked deeply into their clean faces, carefully inspected their hairs and nails, and looked with pride at their cheap but tidy clothes.

"Remember, all of you need to be in your best behavior tonight. Those are very important guests to us"

Naruto nodded excitedly, hardly listening to what Kamiya-rōba was saying. She was excited and she couldn't wait!

* * *

...He couldn't wait. Today wasn't the day of the main event, but it was a night he had looked forward nonetheless. His eyes flickered to the decorations: the colorful balloons; the palm leaves forming a path towards the main entrance and the artless paper lanterns on the trees.

Tonight's fundraiser was the perfect opportunity to finally get his hands in the information he wanted. To finally find out...what interest could have the man with _the orange mask_ in the orphan of the whiskers...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good, Bad, Average? Leave kudos and/or comments!
> 
> Okay people, here is the thing: I'm not particulary content with the first two/three chapters, even if overall I'm mostly okay with the way this story has been shaping up. So I'm torn between a) Just doing a rewrite of the first two/three chapter, change the summary and perhaps the title as well and be done with, or b) Re-post everything as a new brand fic, changing the first chapters and then the rest of the chapters would be re-posted in quick succession as to rapidly return to the point where the story has stayed (only changing some minor things I might not like about those chapters). Creating a new fic seem neater and cleaner somehow, a new beginning and all that, but I'm also unwilling to let go all the support this story has gotten. Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> However, in case I choose to create a new fic, I really doubt I'll erase this version regardless. Mainly because I'm a pathetic person who's absurdly glad that her little story has received so attention and kudos from people she never thought she will recieve. Now, if you like this story well enough to be following it (Eww, you actually like _this_ story? WTF is wrong with you?), keep an eye on my dashboard in the next following days/weeks in case you see a new fic with a different name (or maybe the same even), and different summary but with the exact same story tags as this one.__
> 
> _ _All these last months had been tough on everyone, not only because of the COVID-19, but because of all the people who's died for unrelated causes to it, both famous or otherwise. Please take care of yourselves in every aspect of your lives._ _


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